Isabel Treaty
by jellyfish1234
Summary: Isabel is the daughter of the famous Will Treaty. Her one and only dream is to be a Ranger and when she gets it she could never be happier. Follow her on her adventures to different lands and times with her friends and family. Please read and review! Rated T just in case.
1. Prolouge

Isabel Marie Treaty lived for what her dad did. Every day since she was ten, she'd take the bow that Halt had made her and practice with Will and Halt's watchful eyes on her. They corrected her on her mistakes and showed her the right way. But some mistakes she caught on her own and fixed. Every day she was put her blonde hair with brown high lights up with a ribbon or braid it. She already dressed like a Ranger, but the cloak wasn't part of it yet.

Her dream to be a Ranger started when she was little and she saw her father with Halt and Gilan going off on missions. Her mother on the other hand always knew that her daughter would become a Ranger one day. But Will wanted his daughter to be a Courier like her mother. But the mystery of the Ranger Crop drawled Isabel in.

She was beautiful like her mother, but to everyone she was like a mini Will. She had an innocent look, with his cheeky grin and not to mention that she was a little shorter than her father. But she had Alyss's winning smile. With a mix of their hair and eyes that were brown with an explosion of gray coming from the pupil.

Her story as a Ranger started when she was ten. One day Crowley came over with Halt and Pauline. When he left Isabel followed him, half way back to the castle he turned around smiling asking, "Now who might that little Ranger be?" Isabel stepped out of the shadows and walked closer to Crowley. "Now why might I ask are you out here?" He said beckoning to the woods.

"I was wondering if there had ever been a girl Ranger before." She asked rocking on the heels of her feet looking at Crowley.

"Well there hasn't been one before." He said crouching down in front of her. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…" she said. "I told daddy that I would be a Ranger like him one day. And he told me that I would be a Courier like mommy, but I don't want to be a Courier. I want to be a Ranger."

"It seems that your mind is set on being a Ranger then," he said stroking his chin.

"So do you think that I could one day?" She asked eyes wide.

"If you practice and practice then you just might," he told her. She smiled and looked at him with joy in her eyes. "Now why don't we get you home?"

At first Will didn't agree with the idea that his one and only daughter would possibly be a Ranger, but soon enough he agreed. And they made the arrangement on how she would be trained. So the next month Halt came to the cabin with a small recurve bow for her and a dozen arrows with green feathers.

She practiced and practiced like Crowley said. Then in the spring when she was 15 she started her real training. Gilan had an apprentice named Derrick Altman an orphan whose parents are unknown. He was tall like Gilan with blonde hair and blue eyes and was a year older than Isabel. She would train with Gilan and Derrick on unseen movement, while archery was with her father and fighting with her saxe knife with Halt.

And these are her stories.


	2. Twig

It was a hot summer day and Isabel was out practicing her shooting with a watchful eye of her father. Halt had told him earlier that Old Bob was ready and he could take her when he saw the right time. Walking over to the target he looked at her accuracy, all in the bull's eye at fifty meter. He nodded as she pulled them out and put them back in her quiver.

"You can stop for the day Isabel I have other plans," he told her. She nodded and followed him back to the cabin. There she left her bow and he went over and got Tug. He walked with her having Tug follow behind.

"Where are we going?" She asked, but she already knew the answer.

"You'll see when we get there."

They walked through the woods for an hour or two till they came to a small clearing. There was a small cabin with a stable and a corral. An old man came out to meet them; he was bald man with a long beard. "I was wondering when you would come." He said coming up and shacking Will and Isabel's hands.

Behind him another figure came out from the cabin, he was short like Will and Isabel with a gray beard and hair, Halt. "Well why don't we show her what she won?" Halt said.

Walking over to the stable they found a small brown and white pinto. Isabel walked over to it and smiled, she knew this day would come. When she got her Rangers horse.

"What's his name?" She asked smiling widely. Old Bob laughed.

"He's names Twig," Old Bob said. She looked at him and she read her mind. "He's named that because he won't even snap a twig when he walks through the forest."

"I like him," she said.

"Walk him around," Halt said with a hidden smile.

Isabel smiled at him and took the bridle and started walking Twig around the corral. After a while Old Bob laughed. "She's a natural with him, why don't you get up there are ride him."

Isabel was smarter than that, she looked at him, and asked: "So what do I ask him?"

Old Bob looked shocked, he turned to Halt and Will. "Sorry but we already told her," Halt told him. Old Bob sighed and turned back to the Isabel.

"Ask him 'Can I?'", he said.

Isabel turned to Twig and whispered in his ear 'Can I?' he twitched and turned to Isabel. She smiled and grabbed a saddle and got up on Twig. She started at a gentle trot. Then Halt opened the gate and did the same thing as he did for Will. She took him out and went for a run, she felt the adrenalin rush through her veins. She turned back to Old Bobs, and smiled even more when she got down and grabbed an apple and feed Twig.

"So what do you think?" Old Bob said.

"He handles like a dream," she said.

"Well whatever you do don't spoil your horse like Will did with all the apples," Halt said. _She's just like Will,_ he thought.


	3. Crop Meeting Part 1

Isabel was brushing Twig when her dad came in and watched her walking over to Tug and patting the horse on the snout. Isabel turned to him.

"You know that next week we leave for the Crop meeting," he said. She nodded. "You know the deal, when it comes to anything Ranger related you call me Will not dad. We don't want them to know and get the better hand on us." She nodded.

"Will, I know," she said.

"Isabel you know I don't want anything to happen to you," he said.

"I know, but you can't act like I'm your daughter too," she reminded him.

"Yeah, I know."

Isabel put the brush down and gave Twig an apple and walked over to her father. For the past month Gilan had been working with her on unseen movement. She had just gotten back from her lesson today and was covered in dirt from crawling on the ground.

"So when do we leave again?" She asked her dad.

_A week later…._

Will and Isabel left the cabin at seven in the morning, Will kissed Alyss good-bye and Isabel hugged her mom and they were off. They met Halt on the main road, than farther down the road they met up with Gilan and Derrick. Gilan was on Blaze and Derrick was on his horse named Ace. The three Rangers rode in front with the two apprentices following them.

The day they got the grounds, was a warm autumn day. Isabel and Derrick set up the tents, while the three Rangers went off to talk to the other senior Rangers. Other Rangers who walked by Isabel gave her a look, wondering why a girl was at the Crop meeting. Crowley had only told a few of the senior Rangers about Isabel. And from his guess only a few would accept Isabel.

The next day the apprentices had to join there year groups. Derrick went with the other second years and Isabel went with the other first years. And since she was a first year she had to go through all the tests to see if she would be allowed to stay in the Crop. She was dressed in her cloak with her bow and quiver around her back with her throwing knife and saxe knife on her belt.

There were three other first years. One of the largest groups yet. The three boys looked at Isabel wondering if this was some sort of joke. There administrator was an older Ranger in his fifties, he was one of the few Rangers that knew about Isabel. Crowley told him not to go easy on Isabel; she was just as good as the rest of the first years. But what he didn't tell them was that she was better than probably the forth years at shooting, second year at unseen movement and a third year at throwing knives and fighting with a saxe knife.

The first thing the Ranger had them do was shoot ten arrows. And of course the boys had to say something about Isabel.

"Okay, I want you all to shoot ten arrows," the Ranger said. "You'll go one at a time. Ronald you're up first."

Ronald was a small boy, but was taller than Isabel by quite a bit. He shoots his ten arrows and they either hit the bull's eye or the red around it. The next was Ralph, one of his went into the blue, but the rest was in the red and yellow. The last boy was the quiet one named Tomas; his were by far the best. There were more in the bull's eye then the red.

"Isabel, your next," he said. The boys laughed.

"You really think a girl can shoot a bow, let alone it the target," said Ronald.

"Yeah, she might hit us," Ralph said.

"She'll probably aim the arrow at herself," Ronald told them.

"If she can even pull the draw length," Ralph responded.

Isabel stood there looking at them with one eyebrow raised, the older Ranger recognized the looked, and she got it from Halt. She let out a sigh, walked up the line that marked thirty yards and notched an arrow. She took a few breaths, then drew back the string and released the arrow, in seconds she replaced the arrow, aimed and shoot. She repeated this nine times till all ten arrows were in the bull's eye. She turned to the boys and smiled.

"So, what is it you two said about me not being able to shoot?"


	4. Crop Meeting Part 2

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice, but thank you John Flanagan for creating it for us!**

**-Angelica**

During lunch that day the word had got around about Isabel. The older Rangers smiled at her and clapped her on the shoulder for proving the boys wrong. Halt showed a small smile when he saw her walking over for lunch. He turned to Will and said when Isabel got close enough to hear.

"Did you hear that a girl showed up all the other three first years?" Will nodded.

"Yeah, I heard that all ten of her arrows went in the bull's eye and her time was best."

Isabel sat on the log taking the food they had saved for her and looked at them, giving them the signature Halt look.

"How was it?" Halt asked her.

"Okay," she said.

"Just '_okay_'?" Halt said.

"Yeah," she said taking a bit of her sandwich.

"Good, people don't like braggers," he told her.

She laughed and turned when Gilan and Derrick sat down. "Heard Isabel shoot better than the three boys," Gilan said.

"Well I hope she did," Derrick said with a worried face. "She's shoots better than me."

After lunch Isabel went with Halt to talk to Crowley.

"Halt," Isabel asked. "Why does everyone underestimate girls?"

Halt looked at her; she was like Will in so many ways. Always asking questions. "Because they think of woman as lesser beings."

"And you don't?"

"Well Pauline has proven to me that woman can do many things that men don't think they can do. As well as your mother and the Queen. And right know your proving that a girl can be a Ranger."

"So if a girl can do anything a boy can do, but a boy can't do everything a girl can do," she said looking around at all the tents.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said. "I mean have you ever seen a guy ride side-saddle or wear a dress or give birth?"

"No, yes and no." Isabel stopped and slowly turned to him.

"You've seen a guy in a dress?"

"Yes I have," he said. "He was drunk and lost a bet." She held back a laugh and smiled.

"And is he someone I might know?"

"Possibly," he said with a straight face.

When they reach the commanding tent, Halt goes in then motions for Isabel to follow. Inside Crowley was standing behind the table with papers spread out in front of him. He looked up as they walked in.

"Isabel, how are you?" He asked. He heard all about Isabel's first test today and honestly got a good laugh about it.

"Okay," she said.

"Hiding your emotions like your mother," he said.

"Sure," she said nodding.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you great job this morning. Those boys need to know that they shouldn't underestimate girls. And a few of the Rangers need to learn that too."

"And what Rangers might that be?" Halt asked him.

"You know, some other newer ones," he said.

"Really," Halt responded.

"So," Crowley said clapping his hands together. "Tomorrow is the next two tests on the throwing knifes and planning."

"Doesn't seem that hard," she told him.

"Halt," Crowley said more serious. "Can I talk to Isabel for a moment alone please?" He turned and walked out of the tent.

"Isabel, no one else besides the five of us know that your Will's daughter." She nodded. "And you know that one day you will be a Ranger, just you won't have your own fief."

Crowley had gone over with her that one day she would gone the special tasks force with Derrick when her training was done. So both Derrick and she would stay in the same fiefs with their masters.

"This is something I only want to tell you, no one else is going to know, not Halt or your father." She sat down in the chair across from him. "I know that you're going to be one of the greatest Rangers, I can tell from experience. But there's going to be a lot of hard ships for you. Many people will underestimate you."

"Yeah I know," she said looking at her hands.

"But the thing I wanted to tell you, or really the thing I wanted to give you is this." Crowley walks over and pulls out something wrapped in a silk cloth.

Placing the cloth on the table he opened it up and pulled out a leather cord with an oak leaf on it.

"I'm not so post to get my necklace till I'm a full pledged apprentice," Isabel told him

"I know," Crowley said. "You see this one is different. Instead of a chain the leaf is on a leather cord. I'm going to give this to you after the meeting is over. You'll get one like the others will, but you can just give it back to me. But there's something else that's different about this necklace."

He turned the oak leaf around; on the back was the crest of the King and Queen.

"I also have a silver one made for when you're a full pledged Ranger."

"Why are you giving me one with the crest on it?"

"You see Isabel; you're going to be going on many missions to different countries. If your ever captured or trying to prove who you are you can show the crest. And they agreed to give you a copy of the crest so you can seal things if you're even in trouble."

"Why would they do that?" She asked him.

"They trust you Isabel, and they are your godparents. They don't want anything to happen to you."

"And my dad and Halt don't know."

"Yes," Crowley said. She nodded. "So at the end of the meeting come back here and I'll give you what you need."

He put everything back in the cloth and turned back to Isabel. "I can't wait to see how your next tests turn out."

Isabel left and found Halt talking to a Ranger a few tents down.

"What did Crowley want to talk to you about?" He asked.

"He wanted to tell me a few things on how to handle the boys," she told him. It's a good thing Isabel was a good at "bending the truth".


	5. Crop Meeting Part 3

**Ronald Ralph Tomas**

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice, but we can thank John Flanagan for that.**

The next day Isabel went to her next test. Only Tomas was there. Isabel walked over and sat down next to him with their Assessor sitting on a stump sharping his saxe knife. Ralph and Ronald appeared a few minutes later with their masters. The two older Rangers pushed there apprentices closer to Isabel.

"Tell her," the one behind Ronald said. Ronald rolled his eyes and looked at Isabel.

"I'm sorry for what I said yesterday about you not being able to shot," he said.

"Now you too," said the one behind Ralph.

"I'm sorry too," he said but with more sympathy.

Isabel nodded and said: "I was always told it takes a big person to say they did something wrong."

Their assessor nodded and stood up. "Now let's start your next tests," he said.

_The next day_

Today was the day when they would tell the first years if they would stay in the Crop or not. And Isabel was a nervous wreck on the inside. She walked with Will and Halt to join the other first years that were standing in front of the pavilion.

Crowley stood there with some papers on a table with an ink well and a pen. "Well, well," he said. "What a wonderful day."

The four apprentices, their masters and other Rangers who saw an interest in seeing who would become a full apprentice were all standing in a semi-circle around Crowley.

"I'm sorry to say that all four of you are going to be spending the next four years with your four grumpy masters," he said.

All four of the apprentices let out a huge sigh. They were lucky that all four would be staying. Since there were two second years and only one fifth year.

One at a time the four of them came up and signed a paper and Crowley shock there hand and gave them a bronze oak leaf.

Isabel was the second one; she signed _Isabel Treaty_ on it and turned to look at Crowley who handed her, her oak leaf.

Later that night when they had the party for the fifth year Isabel sat next to Derrick and Halt listening to her father on the mandola.

The next morning Isabel told Will and Halt that she needed to go talk to Crowley for a moment. When she got to his tent, she knocked on the pole then walked in to find Crowley sorting through papers.

"Good Isabel you're here," he said. He walked over and got the cloth and handed it to her. She opened it up and looked at the necklace and seal. Taking off the necklace he gave her yesterday, she handed it to him.

Taking the new one she looped it around her neck and put the seal in her pocket.

"Thanks Crowley," she said.

"Don't worry Isabel, I have a good feeling about you being in the Crop," he said with a smile. "Now you should be on your way."

"Bye Crowley," she said waving her hand as she left.

"She'll defiantly change the way the Crop is run," he said to himself.


	6. Keren

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice, but we can thank John Flanagan for that.**

Isabel woke up early, it was still dark out and the sun wasn't due to rise for at least an hour. But it wasn't the chirp of the birds that woke her up, it was something else. Slowly she rose from her bed and changed without making a sound. Walking out of her room, she looked into her parents' room and saw that they both were still asleep.

On her way to the door, she grabbed her bow and quiver off the hook, next to the door. But she left her cloak. She made her way through the woods to the field where the targets were set up. Setting everything down in the grass, she sat down next to it and looked around at the forest and listened to the animals.

When her eyes adjusted to the darkness she stood up and started practicing. At one point she was retrieving her arrows when she heard something that sounded like footsteps. She pretended to not hear anything and kept taking her arrows out.

The footsteps were getting louder and she noticed that there were many sets of footsteps coming from all around the field. Looking straight ahead a figure appeared. It was a man in his forties he had a mask on his face and a sword on his side.

Isabel turned her head to the right and saw two more men come out of the woods, but they didn't have masks on. On her left was the same thing. Turning to look behind her there was one man and her bow was quiver was behind him.

She knew that if they got to close they'd over take her. But if she could get to her bow, she could take out at least three of them, then get back to the cabin and get Will.

"Morning," the one with the mask said to Isabel. She turned toward him, but kept looking around at all of them. Halt had told her to never turn your back to the enemy.

"Morning," she said easily.

"It's pretty early to be out, don't you think?" He asked walking closer to her.

"Could ask you the same question," she told him. She looked him up and down, quickly looking around her at the other men drawling closer.

"Well," he said placing his hands behind his back. "My name is Keren and I'm looking for the Ranger Will."

"You know there is more than one Ranger Will," she said.

"Well this Ranger Will should know a Courier named Alyss," he said.

"And what makes you think I would know anything about them?"

"You're dressed like a Ranger, except you have no cloak. And you shoot like a Ranger, so I'm guessing you're the local Rangers apprentice."

"Maybe I am," she told him.

"Then why don't we just go back to the cabin over there and talk with the local Ranger," he said pointing to the direction of the cabin.

One on the right and one on the left of Isabel rushed in to grab her arms. She took two arrows and pushed them into the two men. The one on the left got the arrow in the thigh and the right one got it in the stomach. They screamed in pain and she pulled them out ready for the other two to come.

When they did she dodged them and they slammed into each other, but she forgot about the one behind her. He pinned her arms to her side, squeezing her hard so she dropped the arrows. With that idea gone she bit his arm, but he didn't wince. She kicked him, but he just lifted her up off the ground.

Keren walked over to her and tilted his head. "Now wouldn't it just be easier to have answered me."

She spit on his mask. He looked at her and slapped her. "Now tell me, you know my name so tell me yours."

"No," she said. He nodded the man holding her. The man squeezed her harder, cutting off her air way.

"So what's your name?"

"Isabel," she said quietly.

"Now was that hard," he said. "Now tell me, who is the local Ranger?"

"Halt," she said. "But he isn't at the cabin; he's at the castle for a meeting."

"Why would he be at a meeting this early in the morning?"

"Because it ran late last night, so they decided to carry it over to today," she told him.

"Well, you see I heard something way different," he said. "I heard that the Ranger here was Will Treaty, and Halt was the senior Ranger that lived in the castle with his wife. So I take it that you lied and your master is Will Treaty. Who I heard married a Courier named Alyss and had a daughter named Isabel."

She never took her eyes off him. She knew what was behind the mask, her parents told her all about Keren and what happened in Machindaw.

"So I have an idea," he said. "What you like to know that idea?" Isabel kept silent. "First I need Paul and Tyler to make a fire."

The two men that ran into each other got up and started making a fire.

"Then I need to heat up these two little metal letters." He pulled out two long sticks with an 'I' on one and a 'T' on the other. He gave them to one of the two men making the fire. When the fire was started they put the letter part in the fire. "Then we need to heat up the letter."

Isabel took a deep breath, she knew what was about to happen, she squirmed in the man's arms trying to break free. Keren picked up the 'I' and walked over to Isabel.

"Then we take the letter and press it to the neck," he pulled her hair out of the way and pressed the hot metal to the left side of her neck. She let out a scream, and then he gave it to one of the men and took the 'T'. He pressed this one so the bottom of the 'I' touched the top of the 'T'.

They stomped out the fire and help their two friends up. They started walking back into the woods leaving Isabel with the man holding her and Keren.

"I finally got my revenge on your parents who destroyed my life," he said. "Do you want to know what to know what they did to my face? They did this," he took off his mask showing Isabel his face. His whole face was covered in burns that would never go away; she gasped turning her head so she couldn't see. "I'll see you again Isabel," he said putting his mask back on. "Till then have fun."

The man dropped Isabel on the ground and followed Keren back into the woods. She stayed where she was covering her burns. After a while she stood up, gathered her arrows and retrieved her bow and quiver and made her way back to the cabin.

The sun was now up and her parents had to go to a meeting at the castle early, so they probably already left. When she got back to the cabin she was right. Her parents were gone but Buck their black and white Border collie was sitting on the deck. He knew something was wrong with her the moment she walked past him.

She walked into the cabin and found some cold water in a bucket and a cloth. She dipped the cloth into the water and placed it against the burns, wincing when the cloth touched it. She sat on the floor of their small kitchen resting her head against a cabinet.

Buck came in and sat at her feet next to the bucket filled with water. She kept dipping the cloth into the cold water hoping to decrease the swelling.

Her parents came back a little after lunch time. She kept her hair down to hide the burn.

"Did you practice?" Will asked her. She nodded and let him pass into the cabin.

Alyss came over and looked at her daughter. "You never have your hair down," she said. She brushed her daughter's hair to one side and caught a glimpse of the burn, before Isabel stepped back and hide it again.

"Isabel what happened?" She said stepping closer to her and looking at her neck. "I thought I heard a scream," she said. There were tears in Alyss's eyes as she looked at her daughter's burns. "How did this happen?"

"There were some men that ambushed me when I was practicing. I shoot one in the thigh and the other in the stomach."

Will came out and looked at them. "Did something happen?" He asked. He looked at Isabel's neck and went wide eyed. "Who did this to you!?"

She told him the same thing that she told her mother. "None of them said their names?"'

She looked down at the ground, and then back up that them. "There was one, he was the leader and he wore a mask. He showed me his face and he said his name was Keren. Two of the five men that were with him were named Tyler and Paul. They went back into the woods after."

"Did you say Keren?" Will asked.

"Yes, he said he was looking for you. I don't know how but he figured out that I was your daughter and he said I'd see him again."

"Oh he will," said Will. "But he'll see mine first and will regret ever coming back."


	7. Old Friends

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice, but we can thank John Flanagan for that.**

They kept what happened to Isabel a secret, only telling Halt and Pauline. That night Isabel sat in her room holding the only mirror they owned looking at her burns. They were still sore to the touch. Placing the mirror on her night stand she looked out the window thinking about her actions during the encounter with Keren.

That morning she woke to the sound of Twig signaling someone was there. Slowly getting up she dressed grabbed her bow and looked out the kitchen window. There were six horses and riders coming down the path.

She recognized the lead rider. Placing her bow back on its peg she opened the door to greet them. Horace dropped from his horse and looked at Isabel will his arms crossed.

"I'm looking for a Ranger," he said. "He should be short with brown hair and brown eyes. Have you seen him around?" Isabel shook her head. "Okay, then maybe you've seen his daughter, acts just like him."

Isabel snorted and hugged her uncle. "Hey Uncle Horace," she said.

"What have you been up to?" He asked as the others dismounted and joined him.

"Aunt Evanlyn," she said hugging the Queen. Behind her were their two kids Marcus who was a year older than Isabel and their daughter Addison, she was twelve. They both had blonde hair with blue eyes. Isabel looked at Marcus; _he looks just like…no_ she thought to herself.

"Where's you dad?" Horace asked looking around.

"He's at the castle with my mom talking to Halt and Pauline about something that happened yesterday," she told him.

"Well, I guess we could just wait till they get back," Horace said. Marcus and Addison sighed which made Evanlyn laugh.

"I like your hair down Isabel," Evanlyn said figuring it. "You look more like your mom that way."

"Come on," she said walking back into the cabin.

When Isabel finished passing out the coffee to everyone she heard Twig whinny again. This time it was in greetings. A minute later her parents came in.

"I thought there were too many horses," Will said coming in hugging everyone. Alyss followed do the same, sitting at the table with them. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Well we are," Horace said motioning to him and Evanlyn. "But these four want to go back to the castle."

"I'll cook for five then," he said. Isabel helped her dad make dinner of chicken and vegetables. While they were cooking the two guards left with Marcus and Addison.

"So what's new in the Ranger world?" Evanlyn asked.

"Well," Will said with a laugh. "Isabel showed up three boys at the Crop meeting last week."

"Sounds like her," Horace said.

They were interrupted by the winey of the horses yet again. This time two Rangers came up to the door, both tall and both hungry.

"I thought I smelled food," Gilan said.

"You always smell food," Derrick said.

"What are you doing here?" Will asked.

"Oh, right," Gilan said walking in. "Well Derrick and I were on our way to Jenny's to get some dinner since we just got back from scouting the fief. And we were wondering if you wanted to come too, but I see Horace and Evanlyn are here."

"Well plan ahead of time next time Gilan," Will said.

"Looks to me you just started," he said.

"We did and there's not enough for you two, because Horace is here," Will responded. They all laughed.

"I got an idea," Gilan said. "Why not give Isabel's share to Horace so you can eat more, and Isabel can come with us."

She looked at her dad who thought for a moment and nodded. "Why not, you'd be bored listening to us reminisces on the good old days."

She got up gave her plate to Horace who happily put the extra food on his plate. She grabbed her cloak and walked over to the door and left with a wave. She saddled up Twig and joined Gilan and Derrick.

Back in the cabin, Horace waited for the three riders to leave till he turned to Will and looked at him. "That boy what was his name?"

Will looked at him tilting his head a little. "He's Gilan's apprentice, his names Derrick."

"Oh," he said. "It's just that he looks just like Marcus."

"Except it's not like Marcus has a twin or something," Will said. Evanlyn and Horace looked at each other and then back at Will and Alyss.

"You don't mean Marcus has a twin?" Alyss said.

"Well," Horace said.

"You see," Evanlyn said. "He did have a twin, but he was pronounced died by the maiden wife."

"What if she didn't lie?" Alyss said. "I mean Derrick is an orphan and…" she looked at Will.

"It makes sense now," Will said.

"What makes sense?" Horace and Evanlyn said at the same time.

"Derrick's last name is Altman," they said together. Horace dropped his fork.

Isabel walked in with Derrick and Gilan to Jenny's restaurant. Jenny saw them and ran up to Gilan hugging him and giving him a kiss. She hugged Derrick and Isabel and showed them to their table. The room wasn't that crowded that night.

They had lamb with coffee and of course honey for their coffee. When they were waiting for their food, Halt and Pauline walked in. Gilan ushered them to come and sit with them. Halt sat between Pauline and Isabel to talk to her.

After they finished eating Jenny came over with a pumpkin pie for them. She joined them, sitting between Gilan and Pauline. Halt and Pauline were the first to leave, but first Halt told Isabel to come to the castle tomorrow for him to check out her burn marks.

Gilan helped Jenny with something's, leaving Derrick and Isabel in the eating room talking. They've been hushed up about it, but for the past month they'd been secretly seeing each other. The only ones who knew were of course Halt and Pauline, because one day they were out practicing shooting together and they kissed. Halt happened to come and check up on them and saw. He promised not to tell anyone, but then the next day they were all having dinner at Jenny's when Pauline walked in on them holding hands in the stable. She also promised not to tell anyone, but they told her that Halt knew.

They rode with Isabel to the cabin, then left heading towards theirs'. She brought Twig to the stable, feed and watered him, then went to the cabin. Evanlyn and Horace were still there; all three of them were nursing cups of coffee talking.

"How was dinner?" Alyss asked her as she walked in.

"Good, Halt and Pauline joined us," she said.

"That's great," Evanlyn said.

"What have you all been talking about?" She asked.

"Just stuff," they all said together.

They weren't going to tell anyone what they learned about Derrick, well except probably Halt. He knows everything.


	8. A Mission

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice, but we can thank John Flanagan for that.**

**-Angelia**

Isabel was sitting on the veranda of the cabin sharping her saxe knife. It had been a week since Keren and there was still no news on him.

Her mom had gone to the castle for a meeting, and possibly be going on a mission soon. While Will was talking with Halt in the cabin, it was easy to overhear them, if you were a ranger, but a normal person would have their ear to the door hoping to hear every other word.

They were having a discussion on what they should do about Keren. Since he had sought revenge on Will and Alyss with Isabel, what wouldn't make him want to take revenge on Horace as well? She understood his point, and since Horace and Evanlyn were still in Redmont, why wouldn't Keren as well.

Halt came out with Will following him. Will turned to Isabel. "Stay here, I'll be back later, if anything happens, get Twig and come to the castle." She nodded and watched them leave.

She waited a few minutes then went and got Twig and followed at a safe distance. She left Twig at the stable at Jenny's restaurant, following the rest of the way on foot.

She followed Halt and Will to the Barons office, she waited outside the door listening to their conversation. Through the oak door it was hard to hear the full conversation, but she understood the parts of it. She heard Halt saying that they should go after Keren, before he tries something again.

"So ease dropping I see." Isabel turned from her crouching to see Horace standing over her with his hands on his hips like a mad mother.

"You could say that, but I call it over hearing," she told him.

Horace laughed and crouched down beside her. "So what are they talking about in there?" He asked.

She thought for a moment, Will and Alyss said that they hadn't told Horace about the Keren problem. "Something about a mission," she said.

"Really," he looked a little said.

"You miss going on missions, don't you?" She asked him.

"Yeah," he said thinking about all the good times he had with Halt and Will. "But I think I'm getting too old for them anyway."

Isabel smiled to herself. "So you're saying that a man that could be your father still goes on missions but you're too old."

Horace looked at her, "So what's the mission about?" He asked changing the subject.

"Something about going after someone," she said.

"Sounds like fun," Horace sighed, stood up and looked down at Isabel. "Well when they're done, tell me who they're going after." He walked away leaving Isabel to listen through the door once again.

They were ending their conversation, when she got up and walked down the staircase. Retrieving Twig she went back to the cabin and resumed her place on the veranda waiting for them to come back. Will returned an hour later, Isabel got up and met her father in the stable.

"So," she said. "Where did yah go?"

"We just had to do something at the castle," he said getting Tug an apple.

"Anything to do with Keren?"

"Yes," he said. "Halt and I are going on a mission to find him, before he tried anything else."

"What about me?" She asked.

"You'll be staying here with your mother," he told her.

"But I'm part of this now."

"Yes, I know that, but I'm not letting him hurt you again." Will's voice was rising, and Isabel wasn't ready to back down, not just yet.

"This is ranger work," she said. "I'm your apprentice, I have to learn, and leaving me here won't help me learn."

"However, I'm also your father and I say no." He was leaving the stable when Isabel turned on her heels and said: "Except, you have no idea what any of them look like. Keren's smart enough to not show his face places. So he'll have his men running errands."

Will stopped in his tracks, she had a point. Will and Halt would be walking around looking for a man in a mask. How many people wear masks? Not many. But Keren would be smart enough to hide and have his men do everything.

"Fine," he said. "But you have to do everything Halt and I say, or we send you back home."

He kept walking towards the house, while Isabel smiled and nodded her head.


	9. Linton

**Sorry this took so long, I was just really busy, between FCCLA, midterms, regents, reading and writing other things. I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that!**

**-Angelica**

They set out early the next day, following a lead that Halt had got from a town north of Redmont. Isabel trailed behind Will and Halt thinking about what this mission might have in store.

They reached the town the next morning, it was a bustling town called Linton, and there was a blacksmith, an inn, a tavern, many houses and stores with a stable to buy and sell horses. Halt checked them into the inn, and told Isabel to change out of her Rangers gab and into something different so she wouldn't attract attention.

She came out in a green dress with her hair down, but she had her saxe knife counseled. She was to go out and scout the town and ask around if there was anything on Keren.

She wasn't a fan of dresses and you could tell by the look on her face. But she covered it up just like her mother would. Halt and Will took her in a nodded to each other.

"She should pass," Halt said. "But, you need to remember to smile and act innocent. Normal people wouldn't expect a sixteen year old girl to know to how to kill a man with a knife and not leave any evidence."

"He's right Isabel," Will told her. "You have your mom's smile; use it to your advantage." She nodded and smiled a sweet smile to them, placing her hands behind her back and swaying back and forth.

"Now I know how she did it," Halt said, Will looked at him.

"Did what?" He asked.

"Make it so Crowley said she could be a ranger, she just smiled and did this," he said gesturing to her.

She smiled more and went to the door and opened it. "And don't worry I have money and my knife to convince people."

And with that she left. She walked out of the inn and down the street looking at everything. When she came to the tavern, she walked in and stood at the bar and looked for someone. Then a man that looked to be in his forties came over drying a glass. He was balding and smelled horrible.

"How can I help you?" He asked.

She looked at him and smiled. "I'm looking for my dad. He came here with a few of his friends."

"And what might you dads man be?"

"His names Tyler," she said. "He's tall, taller than you, with blonde hair and blue eyes."

The bar tender looked at her. "And why are you looking for your father?"

"He left with his friends because…that's his job. And my brother and mother both became very ill. My grandma told me to come and find him."

"Well," he said not meeting her face. "I haven't met or seen a Tyler."

She knew as an indicator when he wouldn't look at her that he was lying. "Are you sure? Because if I don't find him, then we won't be able to get help because who would listen to a girl. But that you for your help."

She turned to leave when a woman in her thirties stopped her. She grabbed Isabel's arm and lead her to the corner of the room. "I heard you're looking for your father Tyler." Isabel nodded. "And you said he's traveling with a few friends. How many might that be?"

"Including him there should be six," she said.

"Well, I saw him alright. He was traveling with five other men and one had his cloak so high up that you couldn't see his face. But I got a good look at his face. He had a mask on."

Isabel found someone who would talk to her. "Where are they?"

"They're staying here at the tavern in the rooms above. But there seems to be something about that man in the mask. Are you sure your father would want to work with him?"

"It's a really complicated story, but he makes good money, and we need it," she said pleading to the woman.

"Well every day, I see your daddy and one of the others leaves and come back. But two of them and the masked one never leave."

_Makes sense,_ Isabel thought. _I drove an arrow into one of their legs and another one into the others stomach. _"Thank you so much," she said taking the woman's hands in hers and giving her a weak smile.

Isabel left the tavern in search of Tyler and possible Paul or the other man, whoever he was.

She walked around Linton looking, but found nothing. When dinner time came she went back to the inn, where she got dinner by herself and brought it to her room. Waiting for Halt and Will to come back.

They came back a few minutes later with their own food and they all sat on the floor eating. Isabel told them what she learned and they told her that they saw two men that fit her description at the blacksmith picking up an order.

"They got more letters," Halt said. "One was an A and but the other ones we couldn't see."

"And there are only a few people that we can think of with an A starting their first or last name," Will said.

"Keren's going after Horace next, but we need to figure out when and who he's targeting," Halt said.


	10. Plans

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that!**

**-Angelica**

Will and Halt looked at each other; they both knew that Derrick would be fine, since only the five of them knew who we was. So it left the whole Royal family. They had talked earlier about telling Isabel, but felt that Derrick should know before Isabel.

"Someone has to stay and follow them," Halt said. "And someone needs to get back to the castle and explain this whole problem to Horace and only Horace at the moment."

"They've never met you before Halt, so you should follow them and Isabel and I should go back to Redmont," Will said.

_There he goes again,_ Isabel thought, _never letting me do anything._ "But one person riding back would be faster than two. And Keren will recognize you, but Halt not so much. And Halt really doesn't know what the men look like."

"She has a point," Halt said.

"She always has a point," Will said meeting his daughter eyes.

"But it's a good point," she said sipping her coffee.

"I'll leave in the morning and ride back to the castle," Will said. "You won't leave Halt's side and do everything he says."

Isabel nodded. "When don't I?" She responded.

The next morning Will left with Tug for Redmont. Isabel stayed in the dress and went around town till she located Tyler and Paul. Halt stayed in the shadows watching her the whole time. The two men were talking to a third man at the stables. They were selling and buying new horses.

She followed them back to the tavern at a safe distance, but they never came back out. That night, Halt had a feeling they'd try something sneaky soon. So he went out scouting the town and saw the six men leave the tavern. One was limping, from the wound he received from the arrow Isabel drove through his leg. And of course one was wearing a mask.

They went into the stables and left on their horses, in the dead of night.

Halt went back to the inn and woke Isabel, they grabbed their gear and went to the stables to get Abelard and Twig and followed the group in the dark.

Will rode all day and made it back to the castle at dusk. He found Horace in his rooms. Cassandra had taken Addison and Marcus to dinner at Jenny's but Horace had stayed at the castle talking to the Baron.

"Will," Horace said. "I thought you were on a mission, what are you doing back already?"

"Horace I have to telling you something," Will said. "It starts a little over a week ago…" Will told him the whole story about Isabel and Keren, and what they found in Linton.

Horace slumped back in his chair and looked at his friend. "If he's coming after me, then I we have to take precautions."

"Addison and Marcus shouldn't be left alone. Halt, you or me should always be with them and the guards."

"Let's just hope that Keren doesn't know anything about Derrick," Horace said.

"The less people that know the better," Will said.

Horace nodded in agreement.


	11. Stories

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that!**

**-Angelica**

Derrick was alone at the cabin in Whitby; Gilan had gone to the castle for a meeting and wouldn't be back till later that night. He was in the field by the cabin practice with his throwing knife when he heard something in the forest. He stopped and listened for a moment, it sounded like footsteps. He turned toward them.

Out of the woods came a man in his thirties. He was big and buff and from behind him came out another man just like him. They walked over to Derrick, who was only armed with his throwing knife. If he threw at the right moment he could render one defenseless and make a run for it back to the cabin to get his bow.

"Where looking for an Altman?" The first man asked.

"And what do you need him for?" Derrick asked, making sure that they didn't get to close.

"Our boss has some unfinished business with him," the man answered.

Derrick knew this was his only time to act. He threw the knife and it drove through the first mans' stomach, then he turned to run. With ranger training he was fast and quiet as he ran. When he checked over his shoulder for the other man he ran into someone.

This man was even bigger than the other two, he bear-hugged Derrick with his chest to Derricks back. He started walking caring Derrick with him. He walked around the field to a camp that rested between Whitby and Redmont fief. There were fifteen to twenty tents and a fire going.

There were about ten men there at the time, the others were out. The man stopped in front of the fire and waited while Derrick tried to break free.

"You might as well stop trying." Came a voice from the other side of the fire. The man walked over to Derrick and the other man. He has a mask covering his face.

Keren.

"I was wondering when I would find Horace's son," Keren said. Derrick looked at him a little confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked Keren.

"Don't try and trick me, I know who you are. Who do you think told the maiden wife to take you when you were born?"

Derrick eyed him and looked around the camp at the other men. "I still don't follow?"

"I'll tell you a little story Derrick," Keren said. "Once upon a time there lived a King and Queen, and they had two identical twin boys, but sadly one was proposed died. But really someone that wanted revenge on the King, if you want to call him that, he had the maiden wife lie to them and take the baby. The maiden wife didn't like what I had planned so she left with the baby and put him in the ward at Redmont. He grew up there knowing his name but never his parents. Now I was finally able to track down the boy and here he is. I would rather have revenge on one of your siblings, but now that you're older and still alive I'm sure you'll go tell them everything and your father will be hurt because I took it out on you."

"You really think I believe that?" Derrick said, rising one eyebrow.

"While if you do or don't I still have to do this," he turned to look at two men sitting by the fire. Each picked up a metal rode and walked over to Keren. He took the first one which was a 'D' and walked closer to Derrick. "This will only hurt a lot."

He pressed it into his neck, Derrick squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip till he tasted blood. Keren took the other rode with an 'A' on it and pressed it so it over lapped the 'D' in the bottom right corner.

"Take him back now," Keren said to the man holding Derrick.

He threw Derrick on the grass and helped the man Derrick threw the knife at up. They dropped the knife next to Derrick and made their way back to the camp. He watched the leave, then took his knife and started walking back to the cabin.

There he grabbed a cloth and some cold water and pressed it to his neck. Next he wrote a note for Gilan saying that he was going to Redmont so Halt and Will could help him with his knife throwing. He pushed his way through the forest to the Redmont cabin.

He was greeted by the whiny of Abelard, Tug and Twig. The door opened when he reached the veranda. Isabel rushed out and took the cloth away from his neck and looked at his neck. She took a deep breath and ushered him into the cabin sitting him down at the table.

"Derrick what happened?" Halt asked him. Will and Halt were both sitting at the table. Halt and Isabel had just gotten back from trailing Keren. They had lost him in the woods somewhere the other night, but they knew that he was close to Redmont.

"There was this man with a mask," Derrick said grabbing all their attention. "He said I was Horace's son."


	12. Decisions

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that!**

**-Angelica**

Will and Halt exchanged looks while Isabel looked at Derrick while placing the cloth back to his neck with colder water

"Explain to us what happened?" Halt said.

"While I was out practicing when two men came, I threw my knife at one then ran for the cabin. I ran into another man and he brought me to this camp site in the woods. There was this man there with a mask that was the leader. He told me that Horace and Cassandra had twin boys, and that he had the maiden wife lie to them that one was died. But after she heard what he was going to do to the baby, she took him and brought him to the Redmont Ward. Then he put two hot metal rods to my neck."

He pulled Isabel's hand away and showed them. It looked exactly like Isabel's mark but with his own initials. Isabel placed the cloth back on and looked at Will and Halt.

"So," Derrick asked. "Does that make any sense to you?"

"Actually it does," Will said. Derrick and Isabel looked between the two of them.

"You mean Derrick is a prince?" Isabel asked. Halt nodded.

"But right now we should talk to Horace and Cassandra. And we should make sure that Addison and Marcus are with them. We don't want Keren to go after them too while he's here," Halt said.

Will left for the castle while Halt took a look at Derrick's burns.

"How long have you known?" Derrick asked Halt.

"Not long," he said. "Your father made the connection the day that you and Gilan came to get Isabel for dinner at Jenny's."

"I've got a bad feeling about this Halt," Derrick said. Halt looked at him quizzically. "Marcus and Addison aren't going to like that they have another brother that they never heard of."

"Why would you amuse that?"

"Well, your brother wasn't too happy that you were still alive, remember?" Halt nodded. "And what if I'm really the oldest than Marcus would hate me more."

"But you don't want the throne," Halt said. Derrick nodded, all he wanted was to stay in the cabin with Gilan and go on missions.

"Maybe we should just tell Horace and Cassandra and leave Marcus and Addison out of it," Derrick said.

Isabel had been silent the whole time till now. "Because one day they will find out, and it's better to find out now, than later."

Derrick nodded. "But I'm just worried. I mean what if they want me to come back with them. I'm not cut out to be a prince."

"They wouldn't make you do that," Halt said. Just then they heard Twig and Abelard whiny.

Will walked in with Horace and Cassandra right behind him, Marcus and Addison followed them in. Derrick turned around and looked at them all. He took in his parents, then his brother and sister. Marcus was the same height as Derrick but built as a swordsman. But so was Derrick.

Since he was accepted into Battle school first, he had practiced with a sword. But the instructors saw that there was something different about Derrick. But Gilan saw something useful in the ranger's world. So Gilan still taught Derrick swordsmanship whenever they had time to spear.

Another difference about the twins was Marcus had longer hair that went over his forehead, while Derrick had short cut hair. But all in all, they were definitely twins. And when Marcus saw Derrick his jaw dropped. Addison did the same thing. While Cassandra covered her mouth with a single tear rolling down her cheek. Horace placed his arm around Cassandra and looked at Derrick.

No one said anything.

"Well," Halt said. "I guess its catching up time."

So they all sat around a table met for four. Will and Halt sat at the head with Derrick and Isabel opposite them sharing a chair. With Horace and Cassandra on one side while Marcus and Addison on the other.

Derrick told them about growing up in the ward, which Horace and Will would smile and look at each other, remembering their days in the ward. Then how he joined Battle school.

"So why aren't you still in Battle school?" Horace asked a little disappointed that his son wasn't going to be knight like him.

"Well," Derrick said with a smile. "One day I got bored so I climbed a tree and fell asleep. The instructors got mad at me, and punished me. Then I just lost interest with all the drilling, it was the same thing over and over again. So I saw some of the archers practicing on my free day, I asked them if they could show me how it's done and they did. Gilan happened to be there for some strange reason and watched me. Then the next day he watched me drill. Two days later he came back and gave me a series of tests with Halt and Crowley watching as well. Afterward, they gave me a chose; I could stay at Battle school or become Gilan's apprentice. And I guess you could see which one I chose."

They kept talking, as they ate dinner that Will and Halt made. They talked till it was late. Then finally Horace stretched his arms and looked around.

"Well, we should get going," Horace said. Everyone stood up. "But I have a question for you Derrick. Which will it be? Are you going to stay here with Gilan or come back with us?"

Everyone looked at Derrick. Earlier he knew his answer would be to stay. But after talking to them and meeting his family, he really wanted to spend more time with them.

"I'm not sure yet," he said. Horace nodded.

"Well, we're leaving the day after tomorrow, so sleep on it and tell us."

Everyone hugged good-bye and Halt went with them back to the castle. Derrick would just stay at the cabin for the night. Will, bit them good night and went to his room and fell asleep instantly. Isabel helped Derrick make a bed on the floor for him.

Derrick sat on the bed roll with Isabel sitting cross legged leaning against the fire place.

"So," Isabel said. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," he said. Silence overcame them till Isabel broke it.

"Well, just think about the pros and cons," she said. He nodded.

"If I go with them, then I give up being a ranger and I resume my role as a prince."

"But if you stay you won't see them all the time; and you'll still be a ranger. And I'm sure there's a big difference between a prince and a ranger."

"If I go," Derrick said. "I'll leave behind Gilan, Halt, Will, Ace, and you. No more days in the woods tracking animals. No more days practicing archery in the field."

"Whatever your chose is, I'll support it," Isabel said. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips then stood up and walked to her room.

Derrick laid down on his bed roll and looked at the fire, till he fell asleep.


	13. Family

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that!**

**-Angelica**

Derrick woke up early. It was before sunrise. He sat up and looked at the fire that was still ragging in the fire place. Last night he had made a decision after Isabel went to bed.

Isabel came woke up before Will. She looked around the room hoping that Derrick would chose to stay. She changed, and then walked out to find Derrick already up. She smiled at him and went to start making breakfast for the three of them.

Derrick joined her, and they made breakfast.

Will woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon. He came out to the kitchen to find Derrick and Isabel finishing up making breakfast. The three of them sat at the table and ate their breakfast. As if on cue, the horses whined and Horace came through the door.

"I smell food," he said. He came in and sat in the empty seat, grabbing a plate of food. They finished eating and Horace looked at Derrick. "Will, Isabel, I need to talk to Derrick alone. Is that okay?"

Will nodded to his best friend and took Isabel out to practice her shooting.

"Derrick I know I told you to sleep on it, but," Horace let out a sigh and looked straight into Derricks eyes. "I already knew your answer, even before you knew."

"You knew that I would choose to stay?" Derrick asked.

"I have to say this, but I've only met you twice. And in those two times I've notices and learned that you might look exactly like me, but you're not entirely like me."

"What do you mean?"

"I grew up in the same ward," he said. "And let me ask, you were either the one getting picked on or the one picking on someone else?"

"I actually was the one that broke up the fights," Derrick said.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah, there were four of us, two other guys and a girl. Luke was the biggest and would pick on Jesse, who was a little smaller than me. Jesse was my best friend so I was just sticking up for him. But now since I quit Battle school Jesse and Luke are best friends and think that I'm a wimp."

Horace sorted and smiled. "I thought that your story would be more like Will's or mine, but it's different. But I knew you wouldn't give all this up. This has been your life, and it's not easy to change it. However, I know that your mother wants you to come back. And in know for a fact that so does Marcus and Addison."

"You mean they don't hate me?" Derrick asked.

"Why would they hate you?"

"Because I just popped out of nowhere," he said.

"Listen," Horace said. "When we got back last night I asked them what they thought, and they both said that they were glad to have another brother. First, Marcus always wanted a brother, and second we're family."

Derrick smiled and nodded. "I was thinking about coming with you, it's just that…"

"You don't want to leave all of this. Will was the same way."

Derrick nodded. "I don't want to spoil, your last day here. But I really need to get back to Whitby."

"I'm sure you do," Horace said standing up. "But please come and say good-bye when we leave tomorrow."

"I will," Derrick said.

He walked out with Horace, but went his separate way back through the woods to Whitby. It took like a little over an hour, but he got back to Whitby in time to see Gilan walking out of the stable.

"Where have you been?" He asked.

"I got distracted," Derrick said.

"Well, I might as well tell you. Halt came by earlier this morning and told me everything," Gilan said crossing his arms. "And I completely understand if you want to go with them."

Derrick looked at him and laughed. "Well, I guess you'll just have to put up with me."

"You're staying?"

Derrick nodded. "I wouldn't give up being here with you then anywhere else."

"Really?"

"You took me in and acted like a father to me, when I was an orphan. You're my family."

Gilan smiled and hugged Derrick. Gilan pulled away and looked Derrick in the eyes.

"Don't think that I'm going to go easy on you now that you're a prince," Gilan said.

"Never thought you would," Derrick responded.

And they both laughed.

"How did you get these burns on your neck?" Gilan asked.

"Did Halt tell you that part?" Gilan shook his head. "Well let's make some coffee and I'll tell you."


	14. The Fight

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Thanks SeaWolf90, for the nice idea.**

**-Angelica**

The day Derrick went back to Whitby, Halt dropped by the cabin, finding Isabel in the stables.

"Where's Will?" He asked.

"Went to the castle to get mom," she said. "What do you need to tell him?"

"I never said I have to tell him something," Halt said.

"Then why are you here?" Isabel asked crossing her arms.

"You ask too many questions, just like your father," Halt said. "I wanted to tell him, that I followed up Derricks lead, and found the camp."

"So Keren's stationed somewhere between here and Whitby?"

"Yes, and he has some posey with him."

"Then are we going after him?" Isabel asked.

"You know Will, will say that you're not going," Halt said.

"Or we can talk him into it," she said.

"Why don't we talk to him when he gets here," Halt said.

They walked into the cabin and made some coffee.

The next day Halt, and Will along with Horace, who wanted revenge on Keren as well, left to find the camp.

"I wonder what his face looks like." Horace said. Halt shook his head at Horace's stupide remark.

"Why don't you ask him to take off his mask when we see him," Will said.

Horace gave him the look, picking up on Will sarcasm. Will had gone against Isabel's demands and he had her stay home under Alyss and Pauline's watchful eyes.

A little after lunch they came across the camp. Will and Halt went ahead to check out the camp. There were twenty men sitting around a fire or taking apart tents.

"They're getting ready to leave," Will said in Halts ear.

"This might be our only time," Halt said back. "Go get Horace." Will went back into the woods to get Horace while Halt stayed and continued to watch the men.

They came back a few minutes later. Horace already had his sword out, while Will's bow was stung and an arrow in the notch.

"Keren's mine," Horace said.

"Well take him together," Will said.

The three of them waited a few more minutes till they saw their chance. Will and Halt both shot four arrows hitting eight men, while Horace ran out with his sword in hand lashing at the first person that got in his way.

Most didn't put up a fight, while some ran into the woods to hide. After a couple minutes the three of them looked around. All the men were either injured or in the woods. But there was no sign of Keren, or his two nice big men.

"Where's Keren?" Horace asked looking around.

"Right here," came a voice from the edge of the woods. They turned to see Keren with his mask on standing at the edge of the woods.

"You," Horace said pointing at Keren.

Keren smiled at him as Horace walked closer, sword in hand death glare on, with Will right behind him, with his saxe knife.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Keren said.

"Why shouldn't we kill you?" Horace asked.

"Because of this," Keren said looking into the woods. The two big men came out, each holding someone. The one on the left had Isabel and the other had Derrick.

"Isabel? What happened?" Will asked.

"I found them in the field practicing, when I hear them talking about how you three were coming after me. So lay down your weapons or I'll slit their throats."

Horace and Will looked at Halt who nodded his head. Unwillingly they placed down their weapons and looked at Keren.

"Now that wasn't too hard now was it," Keren said. "So here's what's going to happen. Isabel and Derrick here will come with me, and if you follow me I will kill them. So you stay here, and when I think I'm far enough away I'll let them go."

"No," said Horace.

"Well I " But he was cut off. Both men dropped Isabel and Derrick and fell to the ground. There were arrows sticking out of both their backs. Gilan walked out of the woods and looked at Horace and Will and nodded.

Both of them looked at each other and walked up to Keren and punched him together in the face, knocking him out.

"That left good," Horace said.

"Agreed," Will said.

They tied Keren up and brought him back to Redmont where he would face trial.

On their way out Horace turned to Will. "So how about dinner."


	15. Araluen

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that!**

**-Angelica**

"So why am I going with you?" Isabel asked Alyss again.

They were on their horses on the road going towards Araluen with a message from the Baron. Alyss wanted Isabel to come along since Will was a mission with Halt at the moment and Isabel looked bored sitting around the cabin or practicing. So she brought her along so she could see what she does as a Courier.

She also thought it would be good, since Derrick was in Araluen at the moment visiting Horace and Cassandra. She found out about them one day when she overheard Pauline talking to Halt about it one afternoon.

Later that night she went home and proved her theory. But she knew that Will still didn't know and knew that it would be better for Isabel to tell him.

And when she told Isabel that they were going to Araluen, her eyes lit up. Now they were a few hours away.

"You're coming with me because I can't leave you there alone, and it'd be good for you to see Araluen again. You haven't been here since you were eleven."

The rest of the way was quiet till they got to the castle. Alyss gave her horse to the stable boy and started walking, till she noticed that Isabel wasn't following her. She turned around to see Isabel taking Twig to a stable, trying to get the stable boy to let her do it.

_Just like her father_, Alyss thought smiling her herself.

She waited for Isabel, and then the two of them walked into the castle, where the whole royal family was waiting.

Cassandra ran over to Alyss and hugged her. "Oh," she said. "It's so nice to see you again." Everyone hugged and greeted each other.

"Now how about so lunch," Horace said.

The next day Derrick, Marcus and Addison wanted to show Isabel around the town that surrounded the castle. It was a warm spring day to be out sightseeing. And after lunch Derrick stole Isabel away from Marcus and Addison when they were on the beach.

They went for a walk a little away from the other two, with the castle in the background. A mile or two away they stopped and sat down looking at the view.

"I'm going back with you and your mom," Derrick told her. "I'm kind of getting sick of the whole being a Prince thing."

Isabel laughed. "So what's so horrible?"

"Well for starters, there is always someone watching you. You can't go anywhere or do anything by yourself."

Both of them laughed and then stopped abruptly. "Did you hear that?" Isabel asked him. He nodded and they both got up turning to the woods behind them. They were both weapon less except for the saxe knife they both had on their waists.

Pulling out the saxe knives they waited for someone to come out. But instead seven Pitca's came out all with swords.

They easily surrounded Derrick and Isabel.

"Now what do we have here?" One of them asked.

"Looks like two young lovers who think they can take us on with knives," another one said. They all laughed moving in closer.

"So should we take them both?" Another one asked.

"Oh yes," said the first man, who had a long black beard.

They moved closer and both Derrick's and Isabel's training was kicking in. They both lunged at them wounding them quickly and going to the next. But their saxe knives could only go so far. The black beard one knocked the knife out of Isabel's hand and grabbed her, twisting her arm.

Derrick turned to see why she screamed and in the moment got hit on top of the head.

"Derrick!" Isabel yelled. Another man gagged her and tied her hands, and did the same to Derrick. Two men picked up Derrick and another threw Isabel over his shoulder.

"Let's get going boys," the black beard man said. "We don't want anyone to come after us to soon."

With that they walked back into the woods and to their horses.


	16. Captured

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that!**

**-Angelica**

Horace, Cassandra, and Alyss were sitting around a table talking when Addison and Marcus came running in.

"Mom! Dad!" They screamed.

"What's wrong?" Horace asked.

"Derrick and Isabel," Marcus said."

"What about them?" Alyss asked standing up.

"They were walking down the beach, when we heard a scream. So we ran after them and we saw these men taking them into the woods. We talked to the guards and they went after them. But we don't know what happened."

"We have to go after them," Horace said.

"Hold it Horace," Cassandra said. "We need to think this through for a moment. Who possibly could take two rangers?"

"This is our son and Isabel," Horace said. "The longer we wait the farther they get from us."

"Who gets farther from us?" Everyone turned their heads to the door. There stood Will with his arms crossed looking at everyone.

"Will," Horace said. "When did you get here?"

"Just a moment ago," he said walking closer. "Now who's getting farther from us?"

Alyss looked at them and walked over to her husband and took his hands, looking into his eyes. "She's missing."

"What do you mean she's missing?"

"Isabel and Derrick were at the beach and Marcus heard a scream and saw the two of them and a group of men going into the woods."

Will looked around at all of them. He knew that going on the mission with Halt was a bad idea; he had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

"Well we have to go after them," he said.

Isabel sat against a tree with Derrick unconscious next to her. They were on the road for three days now. Each time Derrick came back around he would try to break free and they would just knock him out again.

They didn't feed them much, just enough to somewhat stay alive. She knew where they were heading; she could see it from where she was sitting. A harbor.

"Let's go," said one of the men with red hair.

Derrick was awake again. The two of them were pushed toward the docks. Their where ships from all over the world. But she was wondering which one they were going to put her and Derrick on.

The man pushed them forward toward the last ship on the docks. She knew where the ship was from the moment she saw it. A Hibernian ship.

She'd never been to Hibernia. Isabel was hoping for a Skandia ship. If they were put on a Skandia ship then all she had to do was say her name or show her to Erak or any other Skandian and Derrick and her would be saved.

"Keep going," the red head one said, pushing them toward the ship.

They walked up the gang plank to the deck. On the deck were the captain and some of the crew. The captain was a man in this early thirties, he had black hair that was tied up in a ponytail with dark brown eyes.

"Well," he said circling the two of them. "The boy is strong; he could be used for something. And the girl could be a maid in one of the castles." He turned to the leader of the leader of the Pitca's. "How much?"

"One hundred for the both of them," he said.

The captain thought for a moment then nodded his head. "Bring then down," he said.

Isabel and Derrick were brought down to the bottom of the ship, and put in a ceil. They locked them in and took off the rope tying their hands.

That night they sat against the wall listening to the noise coming from the town. The crew had gone to the town, leaving one man to watch them. But he drank himself unconscious.

"I'm sorry I got us into this," Derrick said. Isabel turned to him.

"It's not your fault," Isabel said taking his hand. Then she smiled at him. "Plus, I have something."

"What do you have?" He asked confused.

Isabel stretched out her leg and pulled out a saxe knife a little for him to see. He smiled and gave a small laugh.

"I always keep an extra one on me," she said.


	17. The Drunk Man

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Sorry I haven't like updated and stuff, it's just that I've had NYSSMA and Trills and Thrills, plus a STAR Event to fix for Nationals, and I have three regents to study for. And I can personally say that I cried when I saw the cover for the 12****th**** book, if it is the real cover. And if it is, then the blonde girl with the sling has to be Horace's daughter… Just saying**

**-Angelica**

They followed the Pitca's trail, for two and a half days till they came to the harbor where, Isabel and Derrick were. Horace and Evanlyn went around asking people if they'd seen any of them. While Alyss and Will walked on the docks looking at the ships.

"They probably were sold as slaves," Will told Alyss.

"But who would buy them?" Alyss asked him.

"Well," Will said. "They're both strong and young, that's what they want." Alyss let out a sigh, Will looked at her biting his lip and taking her hand. "Well find them, their smart kids."

Just then Will saw something out of the corner of his eye, a drunken man holding his stomach. Will and Alyss ran over to him, as he fell over, his hand was covered in blood from knife wound. But this wound looked familiar to Will.

The man muttered something. "Could you repeat that?" Will asked leaning in.

"Idiot girl," he muttered again, in Will's ear.

"What happened to you?" Alyss asked him.

"Idiot girl," he muttered again wincing in pain and Will placed presser on the wound with a cloth to stop the bleeding. "Knifed me when I wasn't looking, she'll get it when I find the captain."

"Who's your captain? We can help you find him," Alyss told him.

"Luther, Captain Luther," he said.

"What ship do you belong too?" Will asked.

"The only Hibernian one," he said.

Will looked at Alyss. "Go find Horace so he can help me," he told her. She got up and ran towards the town. Will did what he could do to the wound at the moment, and then Horace came running down the dock to Wills side. "Help me get this man back to his ship."

They each got on one side of the man and helped him back to the Hibernian ship, with Alyss and Evanlyn behind them.

"That one," he said pointing to the last ship. They walked over to it and helped the man up the gain plank. "Leave me now."

"But you could die," Will told him.

"I don't care, as long as I'm able to tell Captain Luther or get to that girl myself," he said. This is when Will really took the man in. He was older then Will, possibly in his sixties, with a short grey bread with dirt in it. He had wrinkles under his light brown eyes; that held a death glare. He was short and a little bent over, and very skinny, with a bandana over his bald head.

"A girl stabbed you?" Evanlyn asked.

"Yeah," he said walking towards the door that goes to the bottom part of the ship. "And Captain better get here soon, cause he'll put that girl out her misery and kill her, well I'll take my time so she fells the pain that I do."

"Do you think that, that's a little too harsh?" Horace asked. The man gave Horace a death glare.

"Harsh? She stabbed me! Now if you flocks want to leave go right ahead, cause no one is going to stop me, but Captain."

And with that he went down to the ceil where the girl that stabbed him was. Horace looked at Will. "We have to find that Captain."

Will nodded and shot off the deck to the dock and back towards the town to find the Captain. "We should try to find a way down there," Horace said. He walked over to the door and tried tugging on it, then pushing it, but it didn't budge.

"Why don't we try together," Alyss said. The three of them tried together. They were counting to three again, when they heard a girls scream come from below and not too far after a boy shout. "There's more than one down there."

Just then Will came back with a man in his thirties, he had black hair in a ponytail and dark brown eyes. He looked between the three of them and then went over to the door and tried to open it. After a few times he gave up and walked away and talked to one of the men that came back with him. The man was huge and waked over to the door and ran into it, knocking it off its hinges. The captain walked down and started yelling at the man.

He emerged a few moments later dragging the man behind him. "Captain, you can't do this!" The man yelled.

"Yes I can and I will," he said. He gave the man to the big fellow and nodded to him. The big guy took the man and threw him over the railing into the ocean. The captain turned to Will. "Thank you, I honestly have been looking for a way to get rid of him for the past year. And I think it's time for us to take off."

"What about the girl?" Horace asked.

"Oh, well since the he did punish her, well bandage her up and let it slide," he said.

They nodded and left the ship, hoping the girl would be okay.

The Hibernian ship took off, in the sun set. When it finally hit Horace.

"Shit," he said.

"What?" They all asked.

"I thought those voices sounded familiar," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Evanlyn asked him.

"The girl that stabbed the man was Isabel, and the boy that shouted was Derrick. I would know those voices anywhere."

They all looked at each other and then out at the ship that was taking their children away.

A few minutes after the Captain left, another man came down and threw some bandages and water at Derrick. He took them and walked back over to where Isabel was sitting holding forearm. The man that was watching them came back and had stabbed in the forearm, he was aiming for her stomach but she threw her arm up in time.

Somehow he had come back from being stabbed, in the stomach with a saxe knife. As for the saxe knife they knew that they would be questioned, so she came up with the perfect alibi. They stole the drunk's knife and stabbed him. Hopefully they would buy it. But for now the saxe knife was clean and back in Isabel's boot.

They would have escaped too, if the man hadn't run away with the key, which was now in the hands of the captain. As they sailed away from the harbor, Isabel and Derrick didn't even know that their parents where on the ship, and had helped the man. Or that their parents were watching them sail off.


	18. Sean

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Sorry, I haven't updated, I have Regents to study for. And I saw the cover to the House of Hades, and cried my eyes out for three days. **

**-Angelica**

A week later, Isabel and Derrick were lead off the ship. From there they went to a journey to King Sean's palace, to be sold as slaves. Now Isabel knows the story of Halt's nephew being the King, but Derrick didn't.

When they got to the castle, the captain brought them to the throne room, where King Sean and his three children were waiting. Sean's oldest is Rebecca, who would one day be Queen, then there was Holden the only boy and the youngest was Sophie.

Luther walked before Isabel and Derrick and bowed to Sean. "Your Highness, I bought these to slaves in Pitca, they're both strong and young."

Sean looked at the two of them and nodded to his children. Sophia smiled and jumped up and down, 'cause she thought Derrick was cute, and wanted him to be her own personal slave.

"Well take them," he said.

Luther smiled as one of the guards gave him the money. He left smiling as he counted up his earnings. Derrick and Isabel looked at each other, worried of what might come next.

"I am King Sean, and this is Princess Rebecca, Prince Holden and Princess Sophie," he said pointing to each one. "And what are your names?"

"My name is Derrick Altman," Derrick said.

"And I'm Isabel Treaty," Isabel said.

"Good, now you two are going to be my children's personal servants. Luna will show you were you'll be sleeping, and clean you both up."

A middle aged woman came out from behind a column and took both their hands and brought them to the lower parts of the castle. Luna gave them both a good scrub down and new clothes. Isabel looked at the dress in disgust.

"Do I have to wear the dress?" She asked Luna.

"Yes," she said. "But you can keep your old clothes; just don't wear them when you're working. And the boats you can wear with the dress."

Isabel let out a sigh and put the dress on with her boats and check to make sure the saxe knife was still there. She felt off, she'd never worn a dress, except for when she was really little and had no say.

Derrick was waiting for her, when she came out. He was dressed differently too. Not the regular rangers get-up. He looked her up and down, making a face.

"A dress," he said. She gave him a look, at made him laugh.

"Come with me," Luna said. The two of them followed Luna to a small spot on the floor. "This where you two will sleep, there is a lot of us and not that much room, so get used to sleeping near other people." She threw two blankets at them. "You'll be starting tomorrow morning."

With that she left. Isabel and Derrick looked at each other and walked over to their spot and sat in it.

"What are we going to do?" Derrick said.

"We still have my saxe knife," Isabel said. "But that won't get us far."

"They should find us soon." Isabel looked at him quizzically.

"Are parents?" Derrick nodded. "I hope they do."

They sat there for a while talking about possible options they had. When all the other servants came down, they had dinner and then went straight to bed. Derrick stole a log and wrapped one of the blankets around it as a pillow. Then he laid down on his back with his head on the log. Isabel on the other hand laid down with her head on Derrick's chest as a pillow, and the rest of her tucked next to him.

That morning Will found a ship that was heading towards Hibernia. They left with them, bring along the horses, including Ace and Twig.

"They look miserable," Horace said. Will turned to him and nodded.

"They'll be better when we find them," he said. Unlike Tug and Kicker, Ace and Twig had their heads leaning over stable doors.

"Well defiantly find them."


	19. Apples

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Yeah, well I envy everyone who doesn't live in New York, you people don't have to take Regents and fail them. So I'm writing this chapter is my frustration. Even though I just found out that I got an 82 on Earth Science and only 6 of the 18 of us passed, and 94 on Global, so I feel a little better and Geometry is my strong suit so I think I did well. And I got 16 days till the FCCLA National Conference in Nashville….SO EXCITED!**

**-Angelica**

Isabel woke up slowly, nuzzling her head into Derrick's chest. It was the fifth day of them being servants. Like always Isabel woke up early, and waited. Derrick would wake up before everyone else as well, but not as early as Isabel. So far the two of them had cleaned, severed food, and run errands. And she hated it.

She'd tried multiple times to talk to Sean, but the guards would never let her get close. The only time they'd had to talk, was whenever they eat. It wasn't enough time to devise a plan to escape including when everyone else is listening.

She gripped Derrick's shirt in her fist, letting out her frustration. He squeezed her, showing her he understood how she felt.

"They'll come don't worry," he whispered to her. She closed her eyes and nodded into his chest. They stayed like that till Luna came in and woke everyone up. They ate their breakfast and went on to their daily tasks.

Isabel was walking out the door when Luna stopped her. "Princess Rebecca wants to see you I her rooms." She nodded and headed towards the Princesses rooms.

When Isabel got there she knocked on the door. The maid in the rooms let her in and rushed out of the room, leaving her with Rebecca. Rebecca was a few years older than Isabel, with long dark hair and deep warm brown eyes. She was sitting at her window looking out at the quart yard.

"You're not like the other servants," she said not turning around. "You're what sixteen, yet you look like your fear nothing. You seem uncomfortable in a dress; you came in here wearing pants, I've never met a girl who wears pants, unless they were hunting. And that boy that came with you seems the same."

Isabel looked at her, waiting, knowing that she shouldn't talk.

"But I need something from you," the Princess said. "I need your help."

"My help?" Isabel asked. Rebecca turned towards her; Isabel was finally able to see her face. Her eyes told the story, they were warm, but if you looked closely you could see that she was sad and lonely.

"Like I said, you're different. I'm not sure if I can trust you, but I feel like I should."

"What do you need?"

"Everything, you could say." She looked Isabel straight in the eyes. "I know you're younger than me, but have you ever been in love? Or close to it."

Isabel thought for a moment, she wasn't sure if Derrick would count as love, but she remember what her mother always said when she read her bed time stories about two people falling in love. And from what she knew, she'd have to say: "Yes."

"Then you understand," she said. "You need to promise me that what I tell you, you won't tell anyone, and you'll help me."

"I promise," Isabel said.

The Princess let out a sigh. "You see I'm in love with someone, but he's not in the same social class as I am. And I know that my parents want me to marry a noble, they even set someone up for me to meet in a week. I've always believed that you should marry for love, and never settle for something less. I'm lost and confused. The boy that I love works here in the castle, and he loves me, and we've thought about running away, but it would never work. I'm going to be Queen one day, and my parents want what's best for me. What should I do?"

Isabel pondered over it for a moment; she understood where the Princess was coming from. "I think, that if you love him and he loves you, then you shouldn't let anything come in-between you two."

Rebecca turned away placing a hand over her mouth, trying not to cry. "I know that I'm not noble, but I know a lot of noble people where I'm from," Isabel continued. "I even call some of them family. And they haven't always married for nobility. So I believe that if you love him, don't let anything get in your way."

"Could you possibly give him a message?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Tell him to meet me in the stables at midnight tonight," she said. "His name is Conrad. Do you know him?"

"Yes I do," Isabel told her.

"Good, you can go now. Luna probably has other things for you to do."

"Well since were in town, let's go visit Sean," Horace said.

The four of them were sitting around a table in a tavern that surrounded Sean's castle. They'd been to some of the other castle's seeing if Isabel and Derrick were there, but they weren't.

"It'd be nice to see him again," Will said.

"We should get going then," Evanlyn said.

They left the tavern, got the horses from the stable and went over to the castle. It wasn't that hard to get invited into a castle, when you travel with the Queen of Araluen. Sean greeted them in the throne room, hugging Horace and Will and meeting Alyss and Evanlyn.

"It's great to see you two again," Sean said. "Well it's late, did you have dinner?"

"Yes we did," Will said.

"Then why don't we show you were you'll be sleeping, and I have to get to a meeting. So well talk in the morning."

With that, Sean left to get to his meeting. Luna an older servant showed the two coupled to their rooms, which were right across from each other.

"If you need anything, servants will be around. And you'll find all of them in the kitchen if you need anything at night," Luna said as she left.

"Kitchen," Horace said. "There's probably food down there."

Will smiled at him and laughed walking into his room, biding his friend good night.

Isabel found Conrad in the kitchen that night and told him the message. When she met him, she could tell that he was shy, but he was handsome, and very nice. He had short brown hair and green eyes that sparkled, and he was a good foot and half taller than Isabel.

After dinner, Isabel curled up next to Derrick and snuggled closer to him. He squeezed her again and smiled down at her kissing her head.

"They come," he said.

"I hope they do," she said.

"I kind of enjoy this though," he said sighing.

"How?"

"Well the fire and dark and quiet remind me of the woods, and having you close is a perk."

"It reminds me when I was little," Isabel said. "My dad and I were out in the woods around the cabin, mom was away for a meeting and it was a clear night. So he took me outside and made a fire, we slept outside and he showed me how to navigate with the stars. He said it's good to know where you are or what time it is, and you can do that by just looking at the stars."

"Well, you really can't see the stars from here now can you," Derrick said.

She punched him. "Doesn't mean anything."

"Just get some sleep Is," he said. She nodded and snuggled even closer and fell asleep to the rhythm of hid heart.

"I'm going to get something to eat," Horace said. The four of them were sitting in Will and Alyss's room, talking around the fire, since none of them could sleep.

"It's past midnight," Will said.

"Yeah, so," Horace said.

"Just don't wake up the servants," Evanlyn said.

"They need their sleep," Alyss said, agreeing with Evanlyn.

"Well does anyone want to come down with me then?" He asked. They all shock their heads. "Fine." With that, he walked out of the room and down to the kitchen.

In the kitchen he saw all the sleeping form of the servants in front of the fire place. Some of the faces were lit up by the fire. He walked over to a bowl on the table and grabbed an apple. He turned to walk back out, when he looked at the servants again.

He squinted, at one of them. It was a boy, he was holding a girl and his face was lit by the fire, but you could see his face a little. Horace got as close as he could, then he sucked in his breath. He'd know that face any day of the week. Derricks.

He moved around in an angle to try to see the girls face, and when he did he was happy to see part of Isabel's face that wasn't buried in Derrick's chest. He smiled and thought of waking them up, but went against the idea.

_The_y _deserve a good night's sleep,_ he thought. Walking out he took a bite of his apple.

"Took you long enough," Will said, when Horace walked in still eating the apple. "Why are you smiling?"

Horace sat down in the chair and didn't stop smiling. "Never, ever mock me getting a snack at night again."

"Why?" Alyss asked quizzically.

"Because when I was down there I saw the cutest little picture ever. There was a boy and girl, the boy was holding the girl, as if to protect her from anything. So I went over to see the boy's face and the girls as well. And there sleeping on the kitchen floor was Derrick and Isabel."

All three of them looked at him for a moment then smiled. Alyss started crying and Will held her, while Evanlyn held her hand on the verge of tears as well.

Isabel woke like normal, and smiled at the moment. Derrick was right last night, it was nice. The morning went my normal, and when she got the chance she asked Conrad how last night was, and just smiled, saying thanks for the advice she gave Rebecca.

She was on her way to Rebecca's rooms that morning again, when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. But these footsteps were quiet, and a normal person would have never heard the footsteps. She rounded the bend on the spiral staircase and came face to face with Will.

They both stared at each other for a few moments till; they ran the rest of the way to hug. Will let out a breath that he'd been holding in.

"You're okay," he said. She nodded into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry dad," she said.

"You shouldn't be sorry, it wasn't your fault any of this happened," he said.

They stayed like that for a while, father and daughter being reunited at last.


	20. Whips

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! **

**-Angelica**

Will and Isabel looked at each other and smiled. "Dad," she said. "I really am sorry."

"Isabel," he said. "The only thing that matters is that Derrick and you are safe. I'm sure you want to go see your mother."

Isabel smiled and started walking with her dad up to the room, when she stopped. "I have to go get Derrick."

"Okay, then come up to the fourth floor," he said.

Isabel walked down back to the kitchen to see Derrick getting ready to serve lunch. Isabel walked behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He turned around to her, with a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking around to see if anyone was watching them. She stood up on her tippy toes and pulled his face down and kissed him. He tried to pull back, but gave up and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What are you two doing?!" Luna screamed marching into the kitchen. She tried prying them apart, but Derrick just held her tighter. "You two will regret this!" With that she marched out to find the guards.

Derrick pulled away, placed his forehead against Isabel's and smiled. "What was that for?"

"You'll never guess what happened," she said. "I saw my dad on the staircase."

"I told you they would come," he said, kissing her again. "We should go see them, don't you think?" She nodded, took his hand in hers and started walking up the stairs to the fourth floor.

They stopped outside the doors that went to Will and Alyss's room. Derrick let out a sigh and Isabel squeezed his hand, smiling at him.

They knocked on the door, but no one answered. Derrick tried this time, harder. Still no answer.

"Maybe they went to go get lunch," Derrick said. Isabel shrugged and tried to open the door, the door was unlocked and they walked in.

"Defiantly went to lunch," Isabel said. They sat down in the chairs and waited for them to come back.

Sometime later they heard footsteps coming towards the room. The four of them walked into the room from lunch. Isabel and Derrick stood up and looked at them, while they stared back. Alyss was the first to react; she ran towards her daughter and hugged her tightly. Evanlyn followed suit with Horace right next to her hugging Derrick. With Will watching them for a moment, till Isabel looked up at him and he came forward and hugged his daughter and wife.

"So," Derrick said. "How did you know that we were here?" They were sitting around the fireplace, everyone on the floor with some food in the middle.

"Oh," Horace said with a hug smile plastered on his face. "I went down stairs for a snack, when I saw you two sleeping on the floor." Isabel and Derrick looked down at the food in their hands. Alyss and Evanlyn were smiling to themselves, while Horace nudged Will. "Won't it be great? One day our kids might get married." Will looked at them all, confused. "What's wrong Will?"

"He didn't know," Isabel said, never taking her eyes off of her food.

"No worry," Will said. "I knew the whole time." The two of them looked up from their food at Will.

"You did?" Isabel asked.

Will nodded. "It's not like I have anything against Derrick. If he was someone I didn't like, I would have ended it long ago, without you knowing."

They all laughed at Will's over protectiveness.

The next morning, there was loud knock on the door. Horace and Evanlyn had gone back to their room, but Derrick had stayed with Isabel and slept by the fireplace. Will woke up first and answered the door. Luna was standing there with two guards, she looked passed him to see Isabel and Derrick.

"There they are," she pointed. The guards started to walk forward to get the two of them, but Will stopped them.

"What are you doing?" Will asked.

"Those are the two servants that left," Luna said.

"Well Isabel is my daughter and Derrick is my friend's son," he said.

"Well they belong to the castle, they are servants," she said.

At this time Isabel and Derrick sat up and looked over at the door. "Dad," Isabel said.

"Isabel, stay there," he told her. "Listen, I understand that they are servants here, but they were kidnapped, and sold here."

"Then take it up with the King, for now the two of them come with us," Luna screamed at him. The two guards pushed Will away heading towards Isabel and Derrick. Derrick pushed Isabel behind him and tried to fight off the guards, but they got the best of him. They tied his hands, while Isabel tried kicking them and punching them, but once Derricks hands were tied, they focused their attention on Isabel.

Will on the other hand went after them but they pushed him off. Will had the upper hand till two other guards came in and held him back till they had Isabel and Derrick.

They walked out with Isabel and Derrick, back down to the kitchen. Isabel thought that they would just get yelled at but instead, they were brought out back, away from people.

"Tie the boy's hands and take his shirt off," the head guard said. Over the time that they'd been there, Isabel had met the head guard a few times, and every time she got a bad vibe off him. And at this moment, she knew that he was trouble. In his right hand was a whip, and the other guards has placed Derrick in front of him on his knees.

"NO!" Isabel yelled. She pulled herself from the guards hold and tried to get the whip out of the head guard's hand. He pulled hack his arm, and then back hand slapped Isabel to the ground. He let out the whip and slashed Derrick in the back. He let out a yell in pain, biting down on his lower lip.

Isabel laid on her stomach and watched as the whip kept hitting Derrick, every time it cracked, she let out a scream for him to stop.

After the guard cracked the whip at Derrick 20 times, he wrapped it up and turned to Isabel.

"Ten for him, ten for you," he said, then walked away. Isabel got up and ran over to Derrick; she held his head in her hands, trying to distract him from his back. He took deep breaths then opened his eyes to see Isabel's face.

"It's going to be okay," she said.

He lifted up his hand, that the guard had untied, and stoked her cheek where the head guard had slapped her. "He hurt you," he said.

"I'm fine," she said taking his hand in hers away from her cheek. "We need to get you back, so I can clean your back."

He nodded. Isabel helped him up and put herself under his shoulder for support. They walked back to the kitchen, where they sat down. All the other servants were working, which left the two of them. She cleaned his back, and then found a healer, who gave her some cream to put on the slashes.

Isabel helped him put on his shirt and lay down. "I'm so sorry," she said, holding his hand.

"Why do you always say you're sorry?" He asked. "This isn't your fault; we both didn't think it through."

"There you two are." Isabel turned her head to the doorway. Evanlyn stood there panting. "We've been looking all over for you two." She started walking towards them. "Your father went and talked to Sean, and he said that you two are free." She sat down next to Isabel and held her face, looking over the scene in front of her. "What happened?"

Isabel told her what happened after they were dragged out of the room.

"Oh," Evanlyn said looking at her son. "Let's get your two up to the rooms."

They both helped Derrick up and walked slowly up to the rooms. They walked into Horace and Evanlyn's room, and placed Derrick on the bed. Isabel crawled on to it and helped Derrick lay back. She stayed next to him holding his hand; well Evanlyn went over to Will and Alyss's room to get the other three.

They came running back in to see what happened to Derrick. They all sat around Derrick on the bed, hearing the story from Isabel.

"We'll have to talk to Sean about his head guard," Horace said.

"Horace honey," Evanlyn said. "I know we're all mad about what happened to Derrick."

"Well he should defiantly do something about him," Will said.

"He's in a meeting till later tonight," Alyss told them.

"Then we'll talk to him then," Evanlyn said.

While this was all going on, Isabel was watching Derrick slowly fall asleep. She listened to the conversation, and she came up with an idea on how to get back at the guard. When the four of them moved their conversation to the other part of the room, Isabel got up and walked out making no noise. She went to her parent's room, and found what she was looking for.

They had brought a bag with them filled with her stuff. She pulled out a pair of pants, a long sleeved shirt and a ribbon to tie her hair up. She also found the bag that Malcolm had given her a few years ago. It was full of little knick-knacks that he had made. She placed the bag in her belt and walked out of them room, carrying her black cloak.

She had a plan to get the guard back, whether her parents were going to talk to Sean or not.


	21. Blue Balls

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! **

**-Angelica**

Isabel found the head guard in the kitchen. He was eating an apple with some other guards with him. They were all sitting around the table while Luna served them food. _She's on their side,_ Isabel thought to herself.

She found a place to hide, but still able to see the five of them talking. She opened her bag and looked inside; she pulled out the straw and a small blue ball, a little smaller than a marble. She placed the ball in the straw, held it up to her mouth, taking a deep breath she aimed at the back of his neck. She placed the straw to her mouth and got ready to blow, when someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

Isabel slowly turned her head around, and looked into a pair of blue eyes. Horace was crotched next to her shaking his head.

"Isabel what are you doing?" He asked her.

"Well…" she said. "I was going to teach the head guard a lesson."

He picked the straw out of her hand and looked at her quizzically. "With a straw?"

"No, with the blue ball in the straw." She said with a smile. "You see, you blow into the straw and the ball shoots forward and hits its target."

"And what does the ball do?"

"Well," she said. "This one hurts a lot when it hits skin, and I'm sure it will hurt a lot if it hits the back of his neck."

"Is that all you were going to do?"

"No, I have some other ideas as well."

"Well instead of all of us getting into trouble, why don't you shot one of your little balls at him, then we go back up, before they realize we're gone."

Isabel frowned at him, let out a sigh and nodded. She placed the blue ball back into the straw, aimed and blow the ball at the head guards neck. The minute it hit his neck, a blue paste squirted all over the back of his neck. He held his neck, while letting out a blood thirty cry of pain. Everyone looked at him in horror, while Isabel and Horace were covering their mouths as they laughed at him.

After a minute or two, they made their way back upstairs laughing still, while the guards and Luna looked for the corrupt.

Isabel placed her stuff back into her bag and walked back into Horace and Evanlyn's room. Horace had rejoined then talking about, talking with Sean. Isabel smiled at Horace and he returned the smile. She sat down on the bed next to Derrick and held his hand till her woke up again.

It was time to go talk to Sean. The four adults stood up and got ready to leave. They turned towards the bed to get Isabel, when they noticed that she must have pasted out some time ago. She was lying next to Derrick holding his hand, with her head on his arm, making sure no to hurt him.

"Don't wake them," Will said.

They walked out as quiet as they could leaving the two of them to sleep.

Isabel woke up to a cold room. The fire was dying away, and there were two torches on either side of the fire place lit. But no one else was in the room, except Derrick. Derrick on the other hand was already awake.

"Did they go?" Isabel asked Derrick sleepily.

He nodded. "You're cold," he said pulling up the covers of the bed and wrapping then around the two of them, trying not to touch or move his back to much.

"How much does your back hurt?" She asked him, placing her head back on his arm.

"Not as much as it did earlier. How long do you think they've been gone?"

"I don't know, but in know they would have checked on us. And since the fire if dying, I guess they aren't back yet."

"Well we might as well go back to sleep, they'll wake us up, when they come back," Derrick told her.

"A straw?"

Isabel and Derrick were sitting up in the bed looking at their parents hovering over them. Derrick was confused when Will walked in and asked what why Isabel shot a blue ball at the head guard. Isabel on the other hand was scratching the back of her neck, giving Horace a look that scared him.

"What straw?" Isabel asked her dad.

"I know you're lying," Will told her crossing his arms. Isabel was a great liar, but when it came to her dad, he could see through any lie.

"Okay," Isabel said. "I didn't like what the guard did to Derrick so I went and got the bag that Malcolm gave me. I was about to shot the blue ball when Horace found me. I told him what I was doing. He said I could shot one of the balls and that was it. So I shot the blue one and we came back."

They all turned towards Horace. "It was funny," he said.

"Well talk about this more when we get back home," Will said. "Till then, get some sleep, we're leaving in the morning." Will and Alyss walked out of the room.

"We're going to stay in the room that was given for the two of you, so we don't have to move Derrick," Evanlyn said.

When they were gone Derrick turned towards Isabel. "Why did you do that?"

She turned her head slowly towards him. "Because he hurt you," she told him.

"Next time, talk to me about it before you do anything harsh," he told her. She nodded. He kissed her forehead and they went back to sleep.


	22. A Ball

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! **

**-Angelica**

The journey back to Araluen was quick and quiet. When they got back Horace and Evanlyn went back to the castle while the other four went back to Redmont. On their way they dropped Derrick off at Whitby and explained everything to Gilan. However, back at the cabin Isabel was in for a reawakening.

She was sharpening her saxe knife when Martin, Baron Aralds secretary, rode up. "I have a letter for you Isabel," he said. She took the letter from him, and then he rode off as fast as possible.

Isabel shrugged it off as if it was nothing. Going back to her seat, she opened up the letter and read it. In a nut shell, Baron Arald wanted to have all the youth between 16 and 20 to come to a ball. So that they could mingle, talk, and get to know one another.

Ball. Isabel hated the word. Ball's meant dancing, dancing meant dresses. Isabel hated dresses. She crumpled up the letter and walked inside. It was a warm spring morning, so burning it wasn't an option. She threw it into the bin sitting by the table. Her parents would never know.

She went back outside and continued to sharpen her knife.

An hour later Alyss and Will rode up, from going to meetings at the castle. There was a smile on Alyss's face and a grin plastered on Will's.

"How were the meetings?" Isabel asked, as they walked up to her from the stable.

"Oh wonderful," Alyss said. "But you know what really got me going, the fact that Baron Arald is having a ball for people around your age."

"Did Martin bring the letter?" Will asked.

"No," Isabel said shaking her head.

"We saw Martin leave with the letters and he said he gave it to you," Will said.

"You're going," Alyss told her. "Well go to the castle and get a dress tailored for you."

"But I don't want to go," she told them.

"It will be good for you," Will told her.

"How?" She asked confused.

"You don't know anyone in the fief that's your age," Alyss said. "The only friends you have are Derrick, Marcus, Addison, and Ashlen. And Ashlen lived in Skandia."

"Well I don't need any more friends. It's not like I have time to spend with them."

She stood up and started to walk into the cabin. "You're going," Will said behind her.

"No I'm not."

"It needs to be tighter around the waist," the tailor said. Isabel stood on a pedestal with Pauline, Alyss and the tailor around her. She was dressed in the one thing she hates the most: a dress. It was a one shoulder dress that was aqua blue. Since Isabel was so tiny, they had to take it in, a lot. There were pins sticking into her everywhere, to get the dress to fit.

She had patience, but not this kind of patience, she had patience to sit in a tree and wait for someone to come by, not get stabled by pins.

When they were finally done, it was late in the afternoon. The ball was in a couple of hours and all Isabel wanted to do was leave and go in the woods.

"Okay, so well go get dinner and then get up dressed and then you can go down to the ball," Pauline said. Isabel turned to her mother with pleading eyes.

"All you have to do is stay for a few hours, and then you can come up here to Pauline and Halts room, change and come home," Alyss told her.

Isabel picked at her food, not wanting to eat. They put the dress back on her along with black slide on shoes. The pulled her hair down, pulling the front sides of her hair back and holding it in place with a black bow.

They stepped back from her and all smiled. "You look beautiful Isabel," the tailor said.

"She always looks beautiful," Pauline said. They let Isabel walk out and down to the ball.

And when she walked in, she knew she shouldn't have. Ever since she was little, she had tried to become friends with the local kids that were her age. But the sight of her in her cloak that she wore when she was little didn't help. They all thought that she was different. No one wanted to be her friend. To them she was the Rangers daughter, and many of them were told not to confront a ranger.

And as she walked in, she got the looks. The one's that did know her gave her a look in disgust. While others thought she was beautiful. But no one would talk to her. The ones that did know her would tell the others that she was the Rangers daughter. And only the children of parents who were Couriers or Barons would talk to her. There were very few. Probably two.

She walked through the crowd and sat down at an empty table. That's where she stayed for an hour. Everyone was dancing but her.

Then she saw her. Lucy. Lucy was the blacksmiths daughter, and let's just say gets everything she wanted. She also had a huge effect over every boy and girl in the thief. She was as you would say the Queen Bee of the young people of the thief, while Isabel was her enemy. She was looking at Isabel and laughing.

"Must be one of her mother's old dresses," Lucy said to her friends. "There's no way a Rangers daughter could afford a new dress."

It really was a new dress; it was just too big for Isabel.

"Her dad probably had to talk the Baron into letting her come," said one of her friends, Alison.

"Like anyone would want to talk to her," said a third, Arleann.

They were all dressed alike, fancy shiny new dresses, with lots of jewelry, and too much perfume on. All their hair was pinned up in buns that must have taken hours.

"Not even one boy will dance with her," Lucy told her friends with a fake grin. They all laughed.

Isabel turned away from them and looked at the other tables where couples or groups of friends were sitting.

"Don't listen to them," she turned around to find Derrick. He was dressed the nicest she'd ever seen. "I want to dance with you."

He offered his hand to her, she took it and they walked to the dance floor, with a smile plastered over her face. Lucy and her friends looked at Derrick and her, wondering why a boy like Derrick would ask Isabel to dance.

Derrick took her right hand in his left and placed his right on her hip, with her left hand on his shoulder. They danced together a few songs and then Derrick stopped them tipping Isabel's chin up. She smiled as he leaned in and kissed her. Lucy came running over and pulled them apart.

"What," Lucy said looking at Derrick. "Are you doing with her?"

Derrick looked her up and down a couple times, raising one eyebrow: the Halt look. "She's my girlfriend."

"How?" Lucy demanded.

"We're both rangers' apprentices," he told her. He walked around her took Isabel's hand and started to the doors.

Isabel turned her head and looked at Lucy as she walked out, Lucy was stunned. Unable to figure out how, Isabel was capable of getting a guy like Derrick and she wasn't. Isabel smiled to herself and wrapped her other arm around Derricks arm and smiled, as they walked out into the night.

**The next chapter will be up tomorrow or today…and I'm going to bring in the Brotherband Chronicles. I hope you've all read it. **


	23. Ashlen

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Oh and by the way, if you haven't read the Brotherband Chronicles then sorry, you can still read this, it's not like I'm giving anything away…I think. Anyway just for the record I ****really**** want Lydia to end up with Stig and not Hal. **

**-Angelica**

"So we're going to Skandia?" Isabel asked. She leaned forward on the floor towards her dad, hopping up and down where she sat.

"Yes," Will told her.

"Yes!" She yelled throwing her hands up in the air. Alyss and Will looked at each other laughing at their daughter.

"I take it she really misses Ashlen," Alyss said.

"I thought she wanted to go for the sites," Will said.

Every few years Will would have to go back to Skandia with Halt to reestablish the treaty that they had formed.

"When are we leaving?" Isabel asked him.

"In three days," he said.

"Is Twig coming?"

Will nodded. "He'll stay in the stables on the boat with Tug and Abelard."

"I'm going to go pack," she said racing off to her room.

"Yup," Will said. "She really misses Ashlen."

When land was in sight Isabel was even more excited. She was bouncing up and down, in the thought of seeing her best friend again.

Isabel and Ashlen had met on sheer coincidence. They were both five at the time, and both had a dream that most wouldn't agree with. Ashlen's dad was the first mate on the Heron, Stig. Now Stig was the first mate to Hal, who is and was an inventor. And of course Ashlen wanted to be exactly like her Uncle Hal. She would watch and help Hal when we was working, learning from him. And most people thought that there was something wrong with her.

Now unlike Isabel, Ashlen comes from a big family, she has three older brothers and three younger brothers. Thus why the beginning of her name starts with 'ash', Lydia and Stig **[like I said, I want them to be together…;)]** thought that they were going to have another boy, and they were going to name him Ash.

Anyway, Isabel and Ashlen met when Will was walking around the Hallasholm with Isabel. She had wondered off, like all fiver-olds would do. When she bumped in Ashlen. Ashlen looked like a normal Skandian, she had blonde hair and blue eyes like her dad, but she had a natural tan like her mother. But she wasn't dressed like any normal fiver-old girl, just like Isabel.

She had on a long sleeved shirt and pants with little sea boots, and her hair tied back in a ponytail, similar to Isabel, but Isabel had on her little rangers cloak at Crowley had made up for her. They looked at each other for a moment, the smiled, introduced themselves and told each other what they dreamed about.

Isabel told Ashlen that she wanted to be a ranger like her dad, while Ashlen told Isabel that she wanted to be an inventor like her uncle. And for some odd reason the two of them became best friends while Isabel was visiting. It turns out that most girls in Hallasholm didn't like the idea that Ashlen dressed more like a boy, and didn't enjoy sewing.

But when it was time to leave, Isabel didn't want to. So Will and Stig came up with a plan, every time Will had to reestablish the treaty Isabel would come along and see Ashlen. And Stig said that when Ashlen gets older, and someone needs to go over to Araluen, she would go alone.

And now Isabel was walking slowly off the plank and onto the dock, waiting for her dad to give the sign. When she reached the end of the dock, she looked back. Will gave a nod to her. She smiled and ran off into Hallasholm, dodging people and animals, trying to get to the river where she knew Ashlen would be.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw the blonde, her curly hair was in a messy ponytail, while there was soot on her face and clothes. There was one other person with her, and from what she could tell it looked like Emerson. Now Emerson was Ivgars son, he looked just like him, big and muscular and could lift and pull anything. The only difference is he wasn't as blind has his father.

All the kids of the Heron brotherband happened to best friends, they were like a huge family. And Emerson and Ashlen were the same age and best friends.

He was helping Ashlen with something that required heavy lifting and fire. Isabel walked over slowly not making any noise.

"Okay," Ashlen said. "Keep that in the fire till it turns orange." Emerson held a metal rod in the fire for Ashlen.

Isabel, being Isabel, just had to sneak up on them. She threw her hood up and ran behind a tree near the river. She went from tree to tree, not making a single noise, till she was right behind Ashlen. Isabel got a better look at what Ashlen was doing. There were many metal rods, fused and hammered together, along with an old sail, and a weird looking piece of wood. Isabel thought it was time, to appear to her friend.

"Whatever you're doing, I hope it doesn't involve me," Isabel said.

Ashlen and Emerson both stopped talking and moving, then slowly turned to the voice that came out of nowhere. Ashlen looked at her for a few minutes, confused, till Isabel threw back her hood. Both of them smiled at each other.

"Isabel!" Ashlen said running up to her friend. They hugged and laughed, till Emerson came over and wrapped his arms around the both of them, picking them up. "When did you get here?"

"Not ever an hour ago," Isabel said when Emerson let them go.

"How long are you staying?"

"Probably a week, maybe two."

Ashlen frowned; usually Isabel would stay a month. "Why so short?"

"Dad didn't explain," Isabel told her.

Ashlen stepped back for a moment taking in what Isabel was wearing. "I see that you are now a ranger's apprentice."

"Yeah. And what are you two doing?"

"Oh," Ashlen said. "We're building something that you can either stand on or sit on, that moves in the water. Like a boat it will move because to the wind."

"Okay," Isabel said.

"We're almost done with it. With your help we can get it done faster, and try it out."

Isabel nodded and they went off to work.


	24. News

**Sorry this took so long, I was at Summer Leadership learning to be an Officer Elect for FCCLA in my state. I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Oh and by the way, if you haven't read the Brotherband Chronicles then sorry, you can still read this, it's not like I'm giving anything away…I think. Anyway just for the record I ****really**** want Lydia to end up with Stig and not Hal. **

**-Angelica**

Isabel sat at the table slumped back in her chair listening to her dad and Erak talk. They had finished the treaty about an hour ago, and now they were just talking. Halt sat with her also waiting for the two of them to stop talking.

"I suggest just going," Halt whispered into Isabel's ear.

"But I won't hear the end of it later," she whispered back. Halt nodded leaning back in his chair listening to Will and Erak still talking.

Isabel sat listening to them talk for another hour, till finally they headed back to their rooms. But luck wasn't on Isabel's side, since it was now dark out. She let out a sigh and walked back the suit where her, Will and Halt were staying.

She lit the fire and slumped back in one of the chairs by the fire and soon fell asleep. She woke up with a start, the fire had died down and the room was dark. Isabel rubbed her eyes and walk over to see if her dad and Halt were in their rooms. Sure enough the two of them were fast asleep in their beds. She walked back to her room and sat down on her bed. She took off her cloak and laid back on the bed tugging off her boats. She stared up at the ceiling and closed her eyes trying to drift back off to sleep.

Just as she was about to fall asleep there was a knock on the door. She got up slowly taking her saxe knife with her and walked quietly towards the door.

"Who is it?" She asked, keeping the door locked.

"Erak, I need to talk to your father and Halt," came Erak's voice through the thick wood.

Will and Halt walked into the room quietly holding there saxe knifes and nodded to Isabel to open the door. Isabel put her saxe away and opened the door. Erak came barding in and closed the door behind him.

"I have bad news," he said. "The Temujai are coming, a scout came back and saw them coming over the boarder."

Will looked at Halt and nodded. "What do you want us to do?" Will asked him.

"I need all the men I have here, I need the three of you to spy and report back, maybe find a way to hold them up."

"Of course," Halt said.

"I need to go inform other people and start planning," Erak said.

"Well leave before dawn," Halt said. Erak nodded and walked out of the room. "Pack lightly and bring enough food for a week," he told Will.

"Isabel?" Will and to Halt.

"What about me?" Isabel said. She the look on his face, she knew that look. "No, no you can't leave me here."

Halt let out a sigh. "For once I might agree with Will right now. It'd be best for you to stay here."

"You can't do that," she told them.

"Yes we can," Will said. "It's too dangerous."

"Really? Too dangerous? It'll probably be worse if you leave me here."

"No, you'll be staying with all the other women and children," Will told her.

"But that's not-" Will cut her off.

"You'll stay here and that's final," he said walking towards him room to pack. Halt walked over to Isabel and whispered in her ear.

"Stay here and teach some of the younger ones to fight, and if Erak needs someone to teach archery that's you. As for the going with the women and children, that's your decision, we'll never know if you do." With that he turned and walked into his room to pack as well.

An hour later, Isabel stood in front of them as they shoulder their bags and got ready to head out. Will turned towards her and smiled. "You'll be fine and safe here, just be safe." He hugged her and kissed her head.

Halt placed his hands on her shoulder and looked into her eyes and winked. "You know what you have to do." She nodded, and the two of them walked out of the suit and towards the stable to retrieve Abelard and Tug.

Isabel stood there for a few minutes looking at the door then turned and went back to sleep.


	25. The Herons

**Sorry this took so long, I was at Summer Leadership learning to be an Officer Elect for FCCLA in my state. I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Oh and by the way, if you haven't read the Brotherband Chronicles then sorry, you can still read this, it's not like I'm giving anything away…I think. Anyway just for the record I ****really**** want Lydia to end up with Stig and not Hal. **

**-Angelica**

Isabel walked around Hallasholm looking for something to do. Every time she offered help to someone they either said no or rejected her. She ended back up at the suit siting on the floor by the fire. Everything was quiet till someone knocked on the door. Isabel got up and answered it.

At first she was unsure of who it was. Since many Skandian's have blonde hair and blue eyes, but it was the way that he looked at Isabel that she knew that they knew each other. Stig towered over her in the doorway.

"Good afternoon Isabel," Stig greeted her.

"Afternoon, is there something you needed?" She asked him.

"Actually you can," he said. "Erak wanted me to come and get you; we might have a job for you."

"We want you to head down south with Hal and his crew," Erak told her.

Isabel gave him a look. "I'm sure you probably heard my dad before you left, he doesn't want me leaving."

"No," Erak said. "He didn't want to you to go with him. He never said anything about you not helping us, and I think I heard Halt say that you should help out."

"And if my dad comes back, and I'm not here?"

"He can blame me," Erak said. "Plus you'll be with nine grown men and one woman. You'll be fine."

"I don't know," she told him.

"You want to be helpful and so something," Erak said. "This is your time."

Isabel thought over every possible outcome. Will and Halt could come back early and she wouldn't be here. Will wouldn't let do anything ever again, he'd made sure that she ever left his side. But if she did go, then she might learn a thing or two, and she would be out doing something and not sitting, waiting around for an attack to happen.

"Okay."

"Welcome aboard Isabel," Stig said. They walked onto the Heron, where all the other members of the Heron brotherband were preparing to set sail. Erak had told Isabel that it might be a good idea to drop the Ranger cloak, but she still brought it with her. Along with the other cloaks she has and her bag of tricks Malcolm gave her, and all her weapons. She walked up onto the ship to be greeted by warm smiles. "So let me introduce you to the crew. You know Hal," he said point at Hal who was behind the helm.

"That's Ulf and Wulf," he said pointing towards the twins that still looked identical after all these years. "Stefan," he said to the man that was directly in front of them. "I hope you have no valuables on you. That's Jesper, the best lock picked you'll ever met. And that's Ingvar," he said pointing towards the biggest one on the ship, and when we apply big we mean muscular."

"And I'm Edvin," said the last one. "And this is for you," he said holding out a black had, Isabel took it and looked at the front, it had a white heron on it.

"Thanks," she said.

"It means you're part of the crew now," Edvin said.

"Hopefully she lives up to it," came a deep voice from behind. Thorn stood there watching the exchange and introductions. "I'm Thorn."

"It's nice to meet you," Isabel told him.

"It'll be nice to not be the only girl." Isabel turned around again and was greeted by Ashlen's mom, Lydia.

"Who's watching your kids?" Thorn asked Lydia and Stig.

"They can watch over themselves," Stig said. "We left Ashlen in charge of the younger three."

Isabel looked around and noticed that she had entered a family, one that was excepting her, even though they didn't know her.

"At least she's wearing good boats," Thorn said. Isabel looked down at what she was wearing, without her cloak she felt lost, but at least she wasn't in a dress. She was in her normal black long sleeved shirt and pants with her boats that she traded out for leather sea boats instead of her normal leather that she wore in the woods.

"Well let's get going," Hal told everyone.

"Your best bet is to stay with Lydia," Stig told her. Lydia came over and brought Isabel over to a spot where she could put her belongings. They sat down on one of the benches, and Isabel put her hat on her head, folding up the brim to fit her little head.

"Don't worry," Lydia said. "Your father will understand when we get back."

"I hope he does," Isabel said.

"You know after thinking about it, I think we should have brought Isabel," Halt said to Will.

"She's safe where she is," Will said.

"Yeah, but if we have information that we need to get back to Erak, one of us will after to go, if Isabel was here, we could have sent her."

Will looked at his old mentor and thought about Isabel, she was his daughter, and he didn't want anything to happen to her. "But back in Hallasholm she'll be surrounded by sea wolves, here it would just be the three of us, and if we let her go back with information then she might get captured."

"She usually finds a way out of it," Halt reminded him.

"Still," Will said.

"You need to stop acting like her father and more like her mentor," Halt told him. "When we're out like this, on a mission, you can't keep her in a room hidden away. She needs to learn, and being here with us would really help."

"When one of us goes back with information, then we'll get her," Will said.


	26. Teutlanot

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Oh and by the way, if you haven't read the Brotherband Chronicles then sorry, you can still read this, it's not like I'm giving anything away…I think. Anyway just for the record I ****really**** want Lydia to end up with Stig and not Hal. **

**-Angelica**

Isabel stood by the helm watching the Herons row to Stig's command. "How can they do that?" Isabel asked Hal.

"You could say it's in our blood to row in time," Hal said.

They had been at sea for a few days now, and Isabel still didn't understand fully why she was with them. Erak had just told her that he wanted her to go with them down the coast to investigate. Maybe he thought she could help them more, then staying in Hallasholm. But she was still mad at her dad for not letting her go with him and Halt.

Isabel liked being on the ocean, though she would rather be in a tree, or on solid ground. She sat down by the Mangler, and looked out at the ocean. She pulled her hat down covering her head better. Even though it was spring it was still chilly.

"Should be dock in Teutlanot?" Stig asked Hal. Hal looked at Thorn who nodded at him.

"Yeah, there might be someone at the docks and in the town who might know something about the Temujai," Hal said.

An hour later they had docked the ship and paid the fie. They left Stefan and Wulf to watch the ship, while the rest of them headed into the town. Edvin and Ulf went to pick up supplies and gave a list to Jasper and Ingvar to get some other things. The other five went to find some information.

"How about lunch?" Stig suggested when he saw the inn. They all nodded in agreement. They walked into the inn and gathered around a table.

"Hello," a young girl said. She was around Isabel's age, seventeen, with black hair and deep brown eyes. "Our special today is lamb."

"Why not," Thorn said. The rest of them nodded.

"Ale?" She asked Thorn, Stig and Hal.

"I think we would all do well with some coffee," Hal said. The girl nodded and walked away.

"What we need to think about is where we might find some information," Stig said.

"Don't they always say that the docks and inns are the best places," Lydia said.

"You could probably learn a thing or two from the traders," Hal said.

"We shouldn't show too much interest in finding them because we're Skandian's," Thorn said.

"Pose as someone else?" Lydia suggested.

"It might be hard, the only people who would work are you and Isabel," Hal said.

"Maybe Edvin," Stig said. "I mean when people think Skandian's they think blonde, blue eyes, big and mean. Edvin is smaller but still big and he doesn't really come all the way off as a Skandian."

"That could work," Thorn said. "We could send him around to different places asking."

Just then the girl came back with their coffee.

"Do you have any honey?" Isabel asked. The girl nodded and gave her a weird look, then brought over some honey and a spoon for Isabel.

"So when we get back to the boat, we should talk to everyone else and figure out who would be the best to go. Since we can't send Edvin out there alone," Thorn said.

"We could have some of us disguised," Stig said.

Hal nodded. "We could be spread out and watching him, in case something goes wrong."

Lydia looked over at Isabel who was casually sipping her coffee and looking at them and listening, but not contributing to the conversation. "What do you think Isabel?" Lydia asked her.

Isabel turned her head towards Lydia. "Sounds like a good idea, but it's just an idea, there are a lot of things that could go wrong with that idea."

"Yes there are," Thorn said. "What are they saying?"

They all looked at him confused, except Isabel. "What are you talking about Thorn?" Hal asked him.

"I was talking to Isabel."

"They know about the Temujai's," she said. "Since, they are Temujai."

"How can you tell?" Stig asked.

"Easy," she said taking a sip of her coffee. "When we came in here I saw their horses, the Ranger's horses are of the same breed. Then I saw their bow sitting by their chairs when we walked in, their recurve bows."

"Observant," Thorn said.

"They know you're Skandian's," Isabel added.

"How?" Stig asked.

"They're talking about us right now."

"How do you understand them?" Hal asked.

"My mom's a Courier she taught me a few different languages, Temujai happens to be one of them."

"What other languages has your mother taught you?" Lydia asked.

"Uh…Gallic and Nihon, and I'm learning Arabic."

"So why are a Ranger and not a Courier?" Stig asked her.

"I'm not a fan of dresses, and the uniform for a Courier is a white dress, and I wouldn't be too trilled to be going somewhere, just to send a message and be surrounded by body guards. But Rangers, they get to be free, and make a difference, and don't wear dresses."

"Seems you thought that through," Hal said.

"They're leaving" Isabel said. A few moments later the three men passed by their table towards the door giving Thorn and the rest of them a look, then left.

"Should we follow them?" Stig asked.

"No need," Isabel said. "They're staying here for the night and plus our food is here."

Will was riding back with Halt to Hallasholm with some news. When they reached Hallasholm people were everywhere, some were sharpening weapons, while others made weapons, and others were practicing.

They made their way to the stables to put up Tug and Abelard. Twig greeted them, when he saw/smelt them. Afterwards, they made their way towards Erak's rooms.

"After we talk to Erak, we should check up on Isabel," Halt said.

"She's probably helping Ashlen with something," Will said. "Let's just hope that she's been practicing."

Erak greeted them at the door and brought them inside towards the fire to sit. "So what did you find out?"

"A few things," Halt said. "They plan on attacking in a week, and they are about a few days away."

"That gives us some time," Erak said. "What else?"

"Well," Will said. "They have spies or men down the whole coast, but most of them are in Teutlanot."

"What do you think they're doing down there?"

"From what we found out, something to do with weapons, supplies, and capturing someone," Halt said.

"Should we be worried about that?"

"For now, maybe not," Will said.

"Well at least that's some good news," Erak told them.

"What's been going on here?" Halt asked.

"Well, I've got everyone who can lift a sword or ax training. And I sent down one crew to investigate the coast for any activity."

"Who?"

"The Herons," Erak said. "You know Hal and Stig." They both nodded, they knew Stig better than Hal for many reasons. One being that Stig was a Jarl and was Ashlen's father.

"So just eight men than," Halt said.

"No, those eight plus Stig's wife Lydia and Thorn, he used to be on my crew till he lost his hand. And I sent someone else with them, thought she would be a good help, with 'investigating'."

"That's good," Halt said, then let out a sigh. "Well we should go find Isabel. Do you know where she is?"

"Yes and no," Erak said.

"What's that so post to mean?" Will asked.

"Well I know that she's on a ship somewhere on the coast, but where I have no idea."

Will slowly lifted his head and met Erak's gaze, and the stare Will gave him scared him. Erak knew that stare, it was the stare of an angry parent. "What do you mean she's somewhere on the coast?"

"Well she was felling really down that you two didn't take her with you, so I already was sending the Herons down the coast, and I thought that Isabel could be a good contribution to their little team they have."

"So you sent her somewhere without asking me?"

"She knew that you would react like that," Erak said. "And I told her, that you can't blame her for any of this, 'cause I came up with this idea."

Will never let down his stare. "You better hope she's alright."


	27. Warmweed

**I don't own Rangers Apprentice; we can all thank John Flanagan for that! Oh and by the way, if you haven't read the Brotherband Chronicles then sorry, you can still read this, it's not like I'm giving anything away…I think. Anyway just for the record I ****really**** want Lydia to end up with Stig and not Hal. **

**-Angelica**

That night Isabel curled herself up in her black cloak for warmth, listening to the conversations of the sailors, either heading back to their boats or towards the taverns. Everyone else was asleep. They had gone over their idea with the rest of the crew earlier that night. Edvin had agreed to the plan, they would disguise him and he would walk around and talk to the traders, while the rest of them would be fanned out watching him.

But that wasn't what was keeping her up. The conversation that she heard the Temujai's have was what kept her up. They were going to attack Skandia in a week, and she just hoped that Erak knew. However, she was even more curious to why they were here and not with the other Temujai's getting ready to attack. They were planning something.

The next morning they got ready to head into the town. They left Ulf and Wulf to watch the ship and the rest of them fanned out around the trading market to watch Edvin. Lydia went with Stig and Thorn stayed with Hal, while Jesper and Stefan stayed with Ingvar, which left Isabel to go by herself. At first Thorn and Hal didn't agree with her, but she wanted to get up high, and watch from a different angle. But really she was going to find the Temujai's.

She made her way back towards the inn that they had lunch in the other day. When she got there she saw the serving girl from yesterday, she encored her and walked over to talk to the inn keeper. He was an older man, maybe in his late fifties, early sixties, with graying hair and brown eyes.

"Morning," Isabel said.

"Morning, can I help you with something?"

"Yes you can," she said. "There are two Temujai's that stayed here last night; do you know what happened to them?"

He gave her a look then looked around the inn at everyone then turned back towards her. "Yeah they been her for almost a week, came in asked for a room, and the rest of the time they talk in Temujai. They seem like their up to something."

"Do you know how long ago they left?"

"I'd have to say maybe an hour ago, heads towards where the traders are," the inn keeper said.

"Thanks," Isabel said walking away. She walked back towards the traders market, when she got there she saw Ingvar. Isabel headed towards him, but one of the traders pulled her over to her cart.

"Good morning," she said. She was an elderly woman with white hair, wrinkled skin and baggy clothes. "What a pretty young girl," she added touching Isabel's face. Isabel pulled away trying to break free.

"I'm sorry but I really need to go," she told her.

"Oh, but don't go yet," the old woman said. "Not without looking at my herbs." She pulled Isabel closer to her cart showing her the wild assortment of herbs. "Here try this," she said pushing red wheat at her.

"What do I do with it?"

"Oh you crush it up and put in on your skin," she said. She turned back towards her cart and pulled something else out. "Here, you can try this." She opened Isabel's hand and placed a pinch of an herb in her hand. "Put this in your mouth, under your tongue would be best."

Isabel looked at the stuff and then up at the lady, she didn't want to be too rude, so she opened her mouth and placed it under her tongue. The minute she did that she regretted it. It burned her mouth and felt like her mouth was swelling up.

"What…was…that?" Isabel puffed out.

"Oh it was ginseng root and warmweed," she said nodding her head, smiling.

"Warmweed?"

"Yes."

Isabel coughed and ran away from the lady and towards Ingvar; her throat was swelling up as well as her tongue. "Ingvar," she managed to say when she got to them. She fell over, but Ingvar caught her in time.

"What's wrong Isabel?" He asked her.

"Warmweed," she said.

"What about warmweed?" Jesper asked.

"Not…good…for…me," she said.

"We should get Edvin," Stefan said.

"Agreed," Jesper said. Stefan ran away towards Edvin, while Ingvar brought Isabel back to the boat, and Jesper went to get the rest of them.

"It's going to be okay," Ingvar told her. He placed her down on one of the benches, moments later Edvin and Stefan ran onto the ship.

Edvin sat next to her and felt her throat. "Are you allergic to warmweed?" He asked her. Isabel nodded. "Okay, Stefan I need you to go get some butterbur." Stefan took off towards the traders again to retrieve the herb.

"What happened?" Thorn asked coming up onto the ship.

"Isabel's having an allergic reaction," Edvin said.

"How bad is it?" Hal asked.

Edvin looked up at them and shock his head. "Really bad."

"What is it from?" Thorn asked him.

"She told me warmweed," he told them.

"How would she get warmweed?"

"I have no idea, but till she's better, we won't know."

A few minutes later Stefan came running up with the butterbur in his hand. Edvin crushed up the butterbur and put it in some hot water, making a tea out of it. Stefan held up her head as he poured the tea into her mouth.

Edvin checked the swelling again after a few minutes and her breathing. The swelling was going down and her breathing was becoming more even.

"Well that was on scare for the day," Hal said.

The old lady watched as Isabel ran from her cart holding her throat, she smiled and laughed. Just then the two Temujai's came over.

"I did what you asked, found a pretty young girl and gave her some warmweed. Now give me, my money."

The two men looked at each other and nodded. The one of the left took out a purse and gave it to her. The old lady weighed it in her hand and nodded back at the two men.

Isabel woke up to the sun setting. She was covered in two blankets laying on one of the benches. Sitting up she tried to remember how she got back to the ship. Then she remembered the old lady and the warmweed. She felt her throat with both hands and took a deep breath.

"Feeling better?" She looked and saw Thorn looking down at her.

"Yeah," she said, her voice a little horse.

"You gave Edvin a scare there," he said.

"No I believe she scared Ingvar more," Edvin said. Isabel looked around the ship and saw that everyone was there.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"There's no need to say you're sorry. It wasn't your fault, how were you to know that you were taking warmweed," Thorn said with a bit of sarcasm.

"I didn't though," Isabel said. "I was coming to look of you all, to tell you something that I learned, when this old lady pulled me over to her cart, she gave me some red wheat and then this stuff to put in my mouth. After I put it my mouth did she tell me what was in it."

"No harm done," Hal said.

"What did you learn?" Jesper asked.

"The Temujai's plan is to attack Skandia within the week and those two Temujai's have been here for a week now."

"Why would they be here and not with the rest of them?" Hal asked.

"That's a really good question," Thorn said.

"Well whatever they're doing here, it's not good," Ingvar said.

"We should look into them more," Isabel said. "They don't seem like normal Temujai, there's something about them that gives me a bad vibe."

"Agreed," Thorn said. "But how should we go about this?"

"Well did you learn anything from the traders?" Isabel asked Edvin.

"Actually, I learned a few things as well about them," Edvin said. Everyone was shocked by the news. "I learned that the old women you were talking about was talking to the Temujai's yesterday, and that they don't just speck Temujai. I also learned that they've been looking for people that have something against the Skandian's or really any other country that they don't control."

"They're scouts," Thorn said. "They're trying to find people to help them, and then when they're done with them, they'll kill them."

"Not a shocker there," Stig said.

"We're going to have to stop them," Hal said.

"That's why we need a plan tonight," Thorn said.


End file.
